Trooper York: Ding Dong The Witch is Dead

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Ding Dong The Witch is Dead

61 comments:

Evi L. Bloggerlady said...: Separated at Birth: Ann Althouse and...?; July 7, 2013 at 7:55 PM
Chip S. said...: This whole thing is both bizarre and sad.

A completely self-inflicted wound.; July 7, 2013 at 7:56 PM
The Dude said...: I would be more than willing to bet that some hormonal or medication issue is involved.

Or maybe that's just projection. I'll get back to you once I sober up...; July 7, 2013 at 8:14 PM
ndspinelli said...: Sixty, You make me laugh a lot.; July 7, 2013 at 8:25 PM
The Dude said...: Thanks, Nick, sometimes I just tap on the mic and wonder if anyone is out there.

Then I launch into a Rodney Dangerfield bit and straighten my imaginary tie.; July 7, 2013 at 8:28 PM
fred4pres said...: Thanks for the support Troop and for the tip about Meade!; July 7, 2013 at 8:50 PM
The Dude said...: Now one must email Lawnboy in order to get a comment published. She really values his time. More than he does, even.

Is it a crime to suggest that someone consider starting to commence to begin organizing a DDoS on an email account? If so, then far be it from me to make such a suggestion.; July 7, 2013 at 9:11 PM
Michael Haz said...: Wow. The comments are really rolling in under the new regime. I counted three, not including the six from Althouse herself, who apparently has been allowed to join the team.; July 7, 2013 at 9:41 PM
rcocean said...: It will be interesting to see how it plays out. I sent an e-mail wishing them good luck with the new system.

I wonder if this is just phase 1 of blogger burnout. She's been doing this for what 10 years?

Some of the good talent should show up here.; July 7, 2013 at 10:21 PM
I Have Misplaced My Pants said...: Some of the good talent should show up here.

As of today, Pants is here, so no worries!

Just kidding-but thanks to Trooper York for letting me crash this party.

I hope to see the better commenters from Althouse pop up here and look forward to not having to wade through the asshats.

I expect Meade to put up with copying and pasting emailed comments for approximately 48 hours. And Althouse is close to useless without comments.; July 7, 2013 at 10:42 PM
chickelit said...: A friend advised me not to send this chirbit to Meade so I'm putting it here: link; July 7, 2013 at 10:54 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: I took up Freemans suggestion and started my own blog. I should have done that a long time ago, but I got too comfortable at the café house.; July 7, 2013 at 11:34 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: I mean, I was moving the furniture and shit.

I don't get this all or nothing option. I'm skeptical.

Why should the not guilty pay for the guilty folly.; July 7, 2013 at 11:42 PM
Trooper York said...: Hey Lem good luck.

The thing is you need permission to view the blog so I can not comment. Just sayn'; July 7, 2013 at 11:46 PM
Roger J. said...: Trooper--gary owen sir--good to see the folks from althouse coming over here. I do hope drill sgt and AllenS follow me over here--you gotta have some one to tell war stories to--no one else will belive me :)

And what is it about Sundays?; July 7, 2013 at 11:50 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: I don't know how to undo that.

Blogger has so many tabs and buttons and gizmos, I think I know why I really hadn't done it, up until I'm forced to it now.

That's my history in a nutshell.

Freeman is on, I think, using Google plus I think.; July 8, 2013 at 12:06 AM
Michael Haz said...: Lem - Congratulations for the new blog. Now how to gain access.....?; July 8, 2013 at 12:09 AM
Trooper York said...: RogerJ right back at you sir.; July 8, 2013 at 12:17 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: I think I got it to allow comments. try now.; July 8, 2013 at 12:41 AM
Trooper York said...: Got it.

It works.; July 8, 2013 at 1:13 AM
MamaM said...: @ El Pollo...Poor Ed! He has my sympathy. I'm sad myself, as I'm not much of a TV watcher and Althouse was my nightly read.

What I valued the most were the commenters, especially those who would stand and deliver time after time bringing humor, opinion, insight and stories. I consider the commentors to have been the living color, patterns and paint applied to the Althouse canvas. They were the ones that made the blog dynamic and turned it into a special place with their thoughts, links, poetry and music. To my eyes, Althouse was the facilitator, the means by which the "third thing" of connection and communication happened. I wonder now if she considered herself to be the main event, when the thoughts and personalities of the commenters were actually the drawing force as well?

Welcome, Lem! I've been reading and enjoying your comments for a long time. Going back several years (4-5?) when you and Penny were hanging out as the late night crew! This blog could use another night owl. Sometimes a cow will moo but other than that it's quiet when the west coast contingent hangs it up for the night and mostly dead 'til dawn.; July 8, 2013 at 2:15 AM
Trooper York said...: We need some late night Lem with music baby!; July 8, 2013 at 2:19 AM
Michael Haz said...: Len needs a desk, a couch and an orchestra. Late night With Lem.; July 8, 2013 at 2:29 AM
Evi L. Bloggerlady said...: Any Althouse commentator who wants to show up at my place can. Glad to see Lem here and to hear he is starting his own gig.; July 8, 2013 at 2:33 AM
MamaM said...: "But we love our old good commenters and Meade would love you to email comments to him."

Lots o' Love in the new directive, but here's the rub: those old good days are over, done, kaput. There's no getting them back. Fresh starts are possible but they tend to work better when answers to "What was my part?" are sought, especially when they follow the sad realization that No one has said: was it me? Did I cause this pain?

There's your sign.; July 8, 2013 at 3:41 AM
The Dude said...: I just read the comment you are referring to, MamaM - Althouse is really wallowing in the self pity. And I hope I am among the first to not offer an apology to a stupid racist woman who voted to destroy this country from the top down. Nothing I could write would express my contempt for her limited intellect and desire to be ruled by an incompetent communist. And yet she will do just fine. May never have a grandchild, but that is probably a good thing.

And I have to wonder about Meade - he says she looks "cute" in that cafe picture. One foot in the grave is closer to the truth, based on my House-like long distance diagnostic skills. Yeah, I am just that good.

But enough about old news - today is a new day, the rains have returned after a 2 day respite and I think I'll spend the morning proofreading - no real work is going to get done in this weather.; July 8, 2013 at 7:35 AM
Michael Haz said...: No one has said: was it me? Did I cause this pain?

That in itself hurts me more than I can say

I read this with disbelief. At first I thought it was intended as irony, but no, it's her reality.
She wants her commentators to apologize for the pain they have caused her. How utterly narcissistic.

I know the Althouse blog competes in some ways with InstaPundit, but there is a key difference: InstaPundit is being written for the benefit of the readers, while Althouse is being written for the benefit of the blogger. That's why InstaPundit will be the enduring blog of the two.

Glenn Reynolds doesn't care what his readers feel when they read his blog. Althouse blog is all about feelings, especially hers. She has an unquenchable need to feel that she is correct, even though dozens of her faithful readers may say otherwise on a particular topic. And when she is told repeatedly in different ways that she is simply wrong about a particular topic, she feels so aggregiously wronged that she closes off comments and demands an apology for those who have (she believes) hurt her feelings

It's as close an adult behavior to a little girl not getting the Barbie she wanted as I can recall seeing. A temper tantrum thrown by a 62 year old professor who lacks the ability to be gracious.; July 8, 2013 at 8:52 AM
TTBurnett said...: Looking at this historically, I'm surprised people put up with it as long as they did.

The blog was begun in 2004. Its foundress was wooed by Meade in 2008. It has been longer post-Meade than pre. Late 2004-early 2008 were the "classic" years, during which the character of the place was established and Althouse became semi-famous, at least in the blogosphere. She also had a run at mainstream media punditry which seems to have run afoul. It's possible to speculate why, but I have no stomach to do so.

Things started their decline post-Meade. My own blow-up with her was in 2010. By last year, on the few occasions I looked into it, her blog had become a sad, stupid thing.

Was this the effect of age encroaching upon character? Was it all a romance that time dried up? Has our our manure-pile Odysseus slain the suitors? (I am at Ithaca right now, so that thought occurs naturally. It is also an odyssey across back roads and flimsy, bumpy Interstates to get here.)

In any case, our Penelope is done with her tapestry. It has been unraveled one time too many. She may have had an unaccountable impulse to try to charm them, but she is through meeting with suitors she loathes. It is time for those still left to take ship to other lands and other adventures.; July 8, 2013 at 9:26 AM
The Dude said...: String the bow and shoot an arrow through those dozen ax heads, arrayed just so, and you will win her hand, but only after you pass the test which consists of one trick question.

I like that Odysseus' old dog remembered him - but I am all about the dogs. I should have named my oldest dog Fido - he is faithful in the extreme. One can learn much from dogs.; July 8, 2013 at 9:45 AM
Evi L. Bloggerlady said...: If any of you guys want to post these comments at my place, feel free. They are well said. Of course, Ann is probably reading them here anyway...; July 8, 2013 at 10:09 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: If anyone has a question about why the Althouse blog failed all you need to do is take a look at the comments in the Poll. Inga is up to her usual tricks of sniping, crying that people are bullying, claiming that Trooper is President Mom Jeans, accusing people of cyber stalking, bullying. The woman is truly deranged.

There is no way in Hell that I would either apologize to Althouse or her stooge Meade, nor would I EVER give them one of my email addresses.

The commentariat was the main reason that I ever went to her blog. As of recently, even her post topics were tired, repetitious and boring, but we could always strike up a conversation in the comments and try to ignore the asshats and clowns.; July 8, 2013 at 11:07 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: Things started their decline post-Meade.

Two toxic personalities that brought out the worst in each other. I think that Meade is more controlling than people give him credit for and that Ann is more malleable than she would like to think.; July 8, 2013 at 11:11 AM
Michael Haz said...: @DBQ - I noticed those comments, especially on Inga made about 9 or ten hours ago that mentioned you by name.

Inga's comments on the poll thread comment area are specifically what Althouse ostensibly seeks to limit or avoid altogether. If Althouse fails to exclude Inga from her team of accepted commenters, the entire reason why she has gone to moderated comments will be nullified.; July 8, 2013 at 11:51 AM
Trooper York said...: Why am I not surprised.

Inga is just about the stupidest person I have ever run across.

Oh well waddaya gonna do?; July 8, 2013 at 11:51 AM
I Have Misplaced My Pants said...: I will consider reading and commenting over there again when she turns comments back on. Heck, I'm even deciding to hold myself to a higher standard in terms of tone than I have in the past. Avoiding snark, not lowering myself to the level of others, disagreeing respectfully (even when it's *cough*ass-cracker*cough* difficult), that sort of thing.

But if she lets Inga do Inga's thing--hell with it. I'm done. She ruins everything for everyone.

Nothing worse than a woman who doesn't know A. how dumb she is and B. how to occasionally shut her stupid piehole.; July 8, 2013 at 12:15 PM
Trooper York said...: I am glad I know that I am not "I Have Misplaced My Pants" because then I would be talking to myself.

Only Inga can get away with that.

Heh.; July 8, 2013 at 12:38 PM
Trooper York said...: Meade is beclowning himself with Inga. If he doesn't shut her down more and more people will just turn away.

That is why I am glad I was able to get rid of her.

In a strange way the same thing happened with Titus. It just got to be too much.

Limiting page views and the number of commenters is the way to do that.

The evil blogger lady will never do that because she is too vain.; July 8, 2013 at 12:40 PM
Trooper York said...: To DBQ's point I had gotten to know Meade through emails and she has a point. A very relevant point.; July 8, 2013 at 12:42 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: This article from Reason.com 2006 is interesting reading in light of the recent melt down at TOP.

Evidenly, Althouse cannot stand to be forced to examine the inconsistancies in her own thinking and when confronted lashes out and calls names.

". Our companions did not raise their voices nor dismiss her (as I would have), but tried to calm her down. In fact, Althouse made the situation even more personal by yelling repeatedly at one of my dinner companions (who is also a colleague) that she was an "intellectual lightweight" and an "embarrassment to women everywhere." In fact, in my opinion, with that statement Althouse had actually identified herself. Before Althouse stalked away, I asked her to apologize for that insult, but she refused."

Nothing seems to have changed since 2006.; July 8, 2013 at 12:46 PM
Trooper York said...: Well that is what she did at a private get together we had in Brooklyn when she was living there.
So it is no surprise.

This was when I first got very wary of her and my opinion changed.; July 8, 2013 at 12:57 PM
Trooper York said...: You learn a lot about someone when they get their load on. Just sayn'; July 8, 2013 at 12:58 PM
Chip S. said...: DBQ, I just saw your link to the Reason article after posting the same link in the "kicking when down" thread.

Wasn't that piece simply amazing? It suggests that her behavior has nothing particularly to do w/ Dr. Helen or Meade--she just can't handle being challenged.; July 8, 2013 at 1:47 PM
blake said...: I think it's fair to say that Althouse is a fraud.

I'm not talking about her legal or pedagogical qualifications, as I do not know them. I'm not even talking about her blog, which when I was reading (in the pre-Meade era) was a sort of performance art, that some people mistook for a forum for the honest exchange of ideas (much to their ultimate dismay).

No, I think she's a fraud at a very fundamental, personal level. At a level that spurs her on to these self-destructive meltdowns. She's adopted this idea of rigorous intellectual debate, but it betrays her over-and-over again, as intellectual debate doesn't agree with many of her cherished beliefs.

It's not mere hypocrisy. Hypocrites make exceptions. A hypocrite would say "I believe in intellectual debate but it's inhuman not to follow your heart in some matters," for example.

Fraud, on the other hand, says "I believe in intellectual debate therefore you don't if you disagree with me on any topic."

Or "I believe in helping the poor, therefore if you try to stop me, no matter how destructive I am to the poor, you hate the poor." That's probably a familiar one.

Human beings lie a lot, most of all to themselves, but the deeper those lies get, the harder they are to live with, and the more fragile (and even insane) the liar becomes.

Perhaps the best way to view ALthouse is not as a person, but an allegory.; July 8, 2013 at 2:45 PM
Darcy said...: Blake, that was fascinating.

And DBQ: Dead. On.; July 8, 2013 at 3:38 PM
chickelit said...: @ChipS & DBQ: Here is an interesting corroboration from revenant concerning the events at that conference: link; July 8, 2013 at 4:16 PM
chickelit said...: @Darcy: We should catch up sometime regarding recent events.

Great new avatar (brainiac)!; July 8, 2013 at 4:18 PM
Chip S. said...: Great find, chick. From reading that thread I don't see much evidence of a Golden Age at Althouse.

She was just as insistent on defining the terms of debate then as now. The main difference is that she had more sycophants then, Meade being one of them.

Revenant's comments were good. Palladian's comment was stupid. Really, really stupid.; July 8, 2013 at 4:31 PM
chickelit said...: Note the use of "anonymous" handles to stir controversy in that thread. It's almost a prelude to the next phase when sock puppets with handles played the same role.; July 8, 2013 at 4:39 PM
Chip S. said...: I noted in that thread that she'd started moderating comments--and that was 2006! She seems to be suffering from some sort of really low-frequency blogstrual cycle.

To see that this is her true self, and not just a li'l old lady driven batty by her tormentors, is eye-opening for me. Others here obviously knew it a long time ago.; July 8, 2013 at 4:48 PM
MamaM said...: From chipS: Revenant's comments were good. Palladian's comment was stupid. Really, really stupid.

But here's a helpful one, same thread:

Meade said...
I don't think diagnosing them as crazy or non-crazy is helpful. Those who are behaving like assholes need to be called on it. Plain and simple.

12/29/06, 2:54 PM; July 8, 2013 at 5:04 PM
Chip S. said...: It appeared from context that Meade was referring to Althouse's dinner companions at that conference, so I would say that it's possibly "helpful" to her, but not as an aid to clear thought or action.

It seems pretty clear that the only asshole at that conference was a UW law prof who found herself in over her head and so resorted to yelling "racist".; July 8, 2013 at 5:19 PM
ndspinelli said...: Bruce, That reason article is a historical perspective akin to The Dead Sea scroll. En vino veritas.; July 8, 2013 at 5:29 PM
chickelit said...: It appeared from context that Meade was referring to Althouse's dinner companions at that conference, so I would say that it's possibly "helpful" to her, but not as an aid to clear thought or action.

Helpful for Meade too in courting the hostess.; July 8, 2013 at 5:50 PM
blake said...: I remember that time period very well. Here's the first shot in that battle, where she compares libertarians to fanatics.

Curiously, I seem to have not commented at all during the kerfuffle. Might be that I took a hiatus. I do that occasionally. (This current hiatus is just about to celebrate its fourth anniversary.); July 8, 2013 at 6:28 PM
rcocean said...: Thanks for the link. Yes, the 2006 Althouse Libertarian Kerfuffle. Good times. Gotta agree with these points though:

"You can't go to a Libertarian party meeting without someone at some point cornering you for 40 minutes to talk about his plan to privatize sidewalks."

And: "The libertarian ideology is a magnet for crazies."; July 8, 2013 at 6:49 PM
Chip S. said...: Every ideology is a magnet for crazies. Same thing for religions.

As for this claptrap...

"You can't go to a Libertarian party meeting without someone at some point cornering you for 40 minutes to talk about his plan to privatize sidewalks."

I've been in lots of discussions w/ libertarians and I've never heard anyone say that.; July 8, 2013 at 6:56 PM
chickelit said...: Inga was very scornful of "glibertarians" too, wasn't she?

Hmmm; July 8, 2013 at 7:00 PM
blake said...: In fairness, we are VERY glib.; July 8, 2013 at 7:02 PM
windbag said...: I don't get the connection with sidewalks, but I've never heard any of my librarian friends push for privatizing anything. They couldn't be employed w/o being on the public dole. I mean, a privatized library is like a bookstore, right?; July 8, 2013 at 7:11 PM
Darcy said...: @Raylan

I would like that!

(And thank you. I have to at least try to "look" the part over here with you smarties!); July 8, 2013 at 8:26 PM
rcocean said...: "Inga was very scornful of "glibertarians" too, wasn't she?"

Most people are. Its why the Libertarian party gets .0001% of the vote. But that's the real world. On the internet THEY RULZ!!!

Them and the atheists.; July 8, 2013 at 9:43 PM

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Ding Dong The Witch is Dead

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