After long and serious consideration I have decided to end any participation or relationship with the Althouse blog.
The continuing harassment of J is an annoyance but the peace I have found by not going over there these past few weeks has been profound. Wading through the nonsense of sock puppets and the likes of Carol Herman and Jeremy's new manisfestation are just not worth the effort. The conversation has deteriorated beyond redemption.
Plus I have many new and exciting things to talk about in the coming weeks. I hope those of youse who enjoy this blog will continue to drop by and say your piece. I enjoy all of youse guys and hope you have some yuks over here.
Life is too short to deal with this nonsense and like many another commenter I have had enough of what goes on when you are a part of the evil blogger ladies world.
I do not consider Ann to be an evil blogger lady. I like Ann and Meade. I like a lot of the commentators over there. But I do not care for a lot of what is going on there--especially lately. I do not expect the host to be a nanny, but it would nice to throw guests out when they are crapping on the carpet in the living room.
ReplyDeleteLife is too short. And you never get the stains out of a carpet.
I do not consider Ann to be an evil blogger lady.
ReplyDeleteIt's a great name though. I try to use it whenever I can.
Hey Trooper- that's how I found out about your blog, from hers. What can I say about a guy who remembers John's Bargain Stores?
ReplyDeleteIf the hypothesis is that Althouse is complicit in the occupancy by new clientele (in order to set a new tone), I see nothing to disprove that.
ReplyDeleteHi, my name is Sixty, and I am an AAA (Ann Althouse Anonymous). It's been 2 days since I last commented in that cesspool (thank you) and all I can say is One Day at a Time.
ReplyDeleteSure, there are those who say AAA is a cult, but he is a lying racist. Some say we are mind numbed Rushbots, but they are somewhere to the left of Stalin and live in Wisconsin. There is even one who says "Wiccan Merman Trash Byro", but seriously, no one, including the author, knows what any of that means. Perhaps someday his meds will be titrated and something understandable with issue forth from his gob, but I am not optimistic. Speaking of which, cleanup on comment 4.
So, with the support of the many fine people here I will continue to eschew that joint and find some degree of inner peace.
Until then - the drinks are on me!
Yay Sixty!
ReplyDelete2 weeks for me!
High five!
My brother!
ReplyDeleteTrooper, I took a 4 month or so hiatus and it did me good. I'm back there but I'm thinking when I head west this winter I may take another break. I respect your decision greatly. However, I've learned in life to be very prudent w/ "never."
ReplyDeleteI see the Yanks gave CC a raise. I love the guy. Are they paying him by the pound?
Add cleanup on comments 9 and 10, too, please. The incomprehensible one is spouting again.
ReplyDeleteI still go there...I just read the comments a lot less.
ReplyDeleteIt is much more fun over here!
J you are not welcome here. Your posts will be deleted. Please bring your business over to Althouse as she prefers your comments and theories to that of her former commenters. You are the future of the Althouse comments community.
ReplyDeleteAnd the future is now.
Thanks guys. I don't do this lightly but visiting over there is like visiting Occupy Madison. People are peeing and shitting and the authorities are too lazy or indifferent to care.
ReplyDeleteI have a big new project that starts next month that will take a lot of my time so I don't want to waste it in an enviornment like that any more.
Will Ann will ever do a post: “If I’ve Trooper, I’ve lost the Middle Blogosphere.”
ReplyDeleteProbably not. It would just accellerate the decline.
She is too busy to worry about you or me Fred. Commenters are not important to her. Hits and page views are what counts.
ReplyDeleteDon't take it personally.
Carol Herman, Ritmo, J, Alphaliberal, Jeremy, garage and that Mitro person will take up the slack. That will suit her just fine.
Ron said...
ReplyDeleteI still go there...I just read the comments a lot less.
You're what's known as a legacy commenter, Ron. You have to stay just to win the longevity contest.
The sad part is that I will have to retool a couple of my bits.
ReplyDeleteI am thinking of having Inspector Lestrade investigate the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and having Hazel, Bigwig and Fiver move the warren to New Jersey to hang out with Caroline and Teresa.
I think that will work out just fine.
Trooper York said...
ReplyDeleteThe sad part is that I will have to retool a couple of my bits.
Whenever somebody returns here from the war over there it will be like news from the affront lines.
What's the missing word?
ReplyDeleteWill Ann will ever do a post: “If I’ve _________ Trooper, I’ve lost the Middle Blogosphere.”
Scapegoated?
Dismissed?
Inconsistently deleted?
Something pithier than lost.
There is no "Middle Blogosphere." Althouse is part of the 1% and we are in the 99%.
ReplyDeleteMamaM, I was thining "lost" but any of your suggestions work quite well.
ReplyDeleteAnd Trooper, yes of course you are right. I also knew the answer to that question before I posted it, of course she will remain silent.
Your voice will be a loss at Althouse.
ReplyDeleteNot enough unique posters there anymore.
"The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in a period of moral crisis maintain their neutrality."
ReplyDeleteTitus, I can't speak for Trooper or his site, but you seem to be welcomed here.
I'm not ready to go cold turkey, but I sure don't blame you Troop. I admit my attitude has changed quite a bit in the last week. It was an eye-opener when Sixty Grit had a comment deleted for calling a fat bitch a fat bitch, but J's obscene maundering is left intact thread after thread. The only explanation is that it drives up Althouse's page views, and so she tolerates it. To me that's evil.
ReplyDeleteIn the meantime I'm going to keep going there, if only to campaign to drive J out by cutting him off. I think I have a couple of takers, and not just people on the sane end of the political spectrum.
Thanks guys. You know you are always welcome here.
ReplyDeleteClouds.
In the meantime I'm going to keep going there, if only to campaign to drive J out by cutting him off.
ReplyDeleteGood luck. Like Trooper said, J will follow you home like herpes.
Have to agree with Tyrone as far as shunning J. He's gotten so far out of control, the only way to shut him up is ignore him.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Fred. Ann isn't an evil blogger lady, but she does it her way and it's her blog, so you have a couple of choices.
You will be missed over there, but I have to say, since she brought the hammer down a couple of weeks ago, J and Carol Herman have been a lot less in evidence. garage is still garage, but he is the least of the annoyances, and you are right about the single-celled intelligence.
I will still go over there to contribute my $.02, as well as here.
My regards to Mrs. Troop
but he is the least of the annoyances, and you are right about the single-celled intelligence.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to see something really obsequeous and gag-inducing, go look at Mitochondriac's comment on Ritmo's blog called "Dichotomies" (it's on Trooper's blog roll). He claims you guys had him crying on Althouse.
I mean, theater art should be believable at a minimum.
ReplyDeleteThat's just bad.
I don't know if it has changed but I will take your word for it as I have not been over there for a while. But I suspect that not much will change.
ReplyDeleteThe bad drives out the good. Many of the people I enjoyed talking with don't go there anymore. Theo, Sir Archy, the cockroach, Simon, Blake, Darcy, Ruth Anne Adams, Michael Haz, Victoria, Cyrus Pinkerton, hdhouse, Beth from New Orleans, readeriam, Zach Sire and now chickenlittle and Fred$Pres have all stopped going or comment very very infrequently. Palladian and Pogo comment very infrequently if at all.
I remember on cafe where all of those guys and even Bissage contributed witty posts as though we were hanging out in a bar and having a few drinks together. Those days are long gone.
It has lost most if not all of its luster.
Welcome to the club. You're the new President. You also have to buy all the beer until someone else joins up.
ReplyDeleteIs it like the hair club for men?
ReplyDeleteBecause I got that new wig for Halloween.
Really? Is it any worse than the last couple years?
ReplyDeleteI keep saying I'm leaving but
Here is the Dichotomies blog link. Chickenlittle is correct, those comments are a squirrel nest of nuttiness.
ReplyDeleteI am thinking of having Inspector Lestrade investigate the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and having Hazel, Bigwig and Fiver move the warren to New Jersey to hang out with Caroline and Teresa.
ReplyDeleteMove the warren?
When you've just achieved warren peace?
Well, really, this is good news!
ReplyDeleteTroop's got better things to do. We should all be so lucky.
When you've just achieved warren peace?
ReplyDeleteWarren peas are what's fed to the rabbits.
Or Warren pees...a problem the former justice had in his latter years.
Hiya RuthAnne!
Hey some of the old gang dropped by.
ReplyDeleteThanks guys.
Thanks guys.
ReplyDeleteYou can thank us by taking your camera and interviewing some of those Occupy Wall Street goofs....right after you tell them Bo Dietl's serving free food outside Rao's. Heh.
I stay away from downtown these days. I am only in Brooklyn.
ReplyDeleteFor those of you in the know I officially signed the deal last week but I can't make the formal announcement until the other party does.
But we start work next week.
It will make for a lot of exciting posts. Just sayn'
CONGRATULATIONS!
ReplyDeleteThanks buddy.
ReplyDeleteIt makes the recent contrempts a mere bag of shells.
I just don't have time for nonsense anymore. This vacation was the last free time I will have for a while. I have to focus my efforts on this blog alone.
Just stay turned for details.
Same Bat time.
Same Bat Channel.
Good News, Trooper? Good to see someone get some... :)
ReplyDeleteWill you still love us when you're rich and famous?
ReplyDeleteAffectionately,
The little people
I remember on cafe where all of those guys and even Bissage contributed witty posts as though we were hanging out in a bar and having a few drinks together. Those days are long gone.
ReplyDeleteAs I recall, when I first became interested in posting on althouse's blog, she stated that she wanted it to be like an open house, a cafe type of atmosphere, where people could hang, discuss and enjoy the ambiance....like the friendly neighborhood bar.
Now, it is a zoo and disgusting. It is like she opened her house and let just anyone in to trash the place and crap on the carpet and insult the guests.
Too bad. There were some fun conversations.
I was a little harsh on Ritmo and apologized for it. I disagree with their belief that the problems at Althouse are from the "right." J is not of the right. I am not sure what J is other than an annoying piece of shit.
ReplyDeleteThe word "community" is derived from the Old French communité which is derived from the Latin communitas (cum, "with/together" + munus, "gift").
ReplyDelete"J" brings to the blog community the "gift" of opportunity. He presents enmity as an option and invites a response.
MamaM has received an assortment of gifts, connections, invites and prompts through the Trooper York and Althouse blogs. Blessing is the word she uses to describe the goodness received from these mixed bags of provocation, humor, and inspiration. Connection and community has been the result.
Leaving to sail a different direction toward different treasure and different ports of call is one thing. Leaving enmity to flourish unaddressed is another.
"J" brings to the blog community the "gift" of opportunity. He presents enmity as an option and invites a response.
ReplyDeleteThat was downtownlad's "Gift" too.
I agree with you of course Dust Bunny Queen. It is sad how bad it has declined. I feel like one of those old guys who is always complain about how it used to be back in the day.
ReplyDeleteThat joint turned into OWS Madison and the authorities don't give a shit.
I hear what you are saying Mama M but it is a big difference when people follow you over here and it is people like you and now when it is people like J.
ReplyDeleteThere a couple of new commenters over there that I don't want to come here because I don't want to have to delete them like I do J and I think it might come to that since they are unremittingly anti-semitic and haters to the max.
We all have to make choices in life and it would be a bad choice to hang with those people.
It is a shame about the people we are leaving behind but what can you do.
It is a shame about the people we are leaving behind but what can you do?
ReplyDeleteHey Stella!!!!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteOf course, this is my favorite scene (for a number of reasons).
ReplyDeleteAlthouse was where your wit was allowed to shine -- you know, where you got your real start. Don't you feel just a wee bit of an ingrate treating her like a Broadway Danny Rose?
ReplyDeleteJo I hope you are not J traveling under another name.
ReplyDeleteAnything I ever posted at Althouse enhanced her blog. At least I think so he said modestly. But you can't get something for nothing. At the least you can earn some respect. When you don't get that you can do one of two things. Bust that person in the kisser. Or in view of your past relationship, sigh, shake you head and walk away.
I don't owe anybody anything. Nor do great commenters like chickenlittle, Fred4Pres, Sixty Grit and the many many others who have sighed and walked away.
You know when so many people feel the same way about you they can't be all wrong. Sometimes maybe it's you. Just sayn'
Leaving enmity to flourish unaddressed is another.
ReplyDeleteThe comment above was intended to reflect the abusive situation over at the Other Place, not TY's decision to leave. Sometimes walking away is the only option, especially if respect is one sided. Enmity is destructive and the stuff "j" is dealing is potent and deadly.
Found this today, and thought of TY with respect and fond regard:
'That, of course, is the great secret of the successful fool – that he is no fool at all.'
Isaac Asimov, Guide to Shakespeare.
I quit Althouse awhile back, then started back when the capitol was overrun by the hippies and ne'er-do-wells. Meade's videography was excellent reporting and filled a void. After a few weeks, I had to quit again.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that a couple of years back, there was some semblance of back-and-forth dialogue. Now there seems to be one big group of conservatives and a small group of liberals. Both herds huddle down and fling poo over the wall.
I forget who mentioned it above, but site meter stats seem to be the primary motivation of the EBL. She rarely joins in the conversations, just stirs the pot now and again. Too bad, because in the earlier stages, there were some entertaining and intelligent characters. That's where I stumbled upon Trooper.
My blog commentating time is greatly diminished these days. I still check in, but not as frequently as I used to. Too many demands pull me in too many directions. I'm glad you're continuing here, Troop. And good luck with your new endeavor. Are we having a meet and greet when the announcement is made?
Trooper, no, I'm not J traveling under another name -- that guy's a creep.
ReplyDeleteEven though I still think you've not been particularly kind to Althouse, I miss you and the others over at her place -- you really did liven things up.
Thanks Jo.
ReplyDeleteI am curious. In what way am I not being fair. Both Palladian and I have posted numerous times that this J guy is trouble. He has followed me back to this blog and chickenlittle and others to harrass and post his paticular brand of venom to pollute our comment threads. Now I don't ever delete stuff like when Titus goes on one of his colorful tirades. Because you can tell he has a good heart. But J is a lot like Mary and Deb Frisch and Maxine Weiss and other crazies who we have seen before. The evil blogger lady does not lower herself to reply to this or address in anyother way other than to delete people like me and Sixty Grit while letting J's greatest hits stand. She is about page hits and views and not about fostering the dialouge in a meaningful and helpful way. She never has.
I expect a post in a few weeks taking a shot at me for being a baby or for not measuring up or some bullshit like that where she will call me a pussy and a loser and whatnot. She has done that before. Hoping to get a response to start it up and get people comenting.
It won't work this time.
I am also thinking about starting a new blog about my big project and that might take a lot more of my time so I have to focus a little more.
ReplyDeletePlus I have really been neglecting some of my ongoing series here and I want to get back into doing that. The quick hits with a photo and a couple of sentances are a lot of fun but I like to be more creative.
Why waste it where someone doen't appreciate it?
Is J Jeremy?
ReplyDeleteBtw, I loved that nickname of evil blogger lady so much I bought that domain name. Now I have to figure out what to do with it.
The old crowd at Althouse is rarely there anymore. In her defense, I think the topics have naturally revolved around the political divide and next year's prez race which leads to very vociferous commenting [me included].
ReplyDeleteThat said, I have very little interest in the many links to navel-gazing NYT reporters.
I am super late to this party, but for what it's worth - Althouse is what it is. Take it or leave it, apparently you have left it. I rarely comment there, because she has immense traffic, and by the time I get to a post, typically there are a hundred comments already and I have no desire to wade through all that bullshit. But it is her place and to each their own, I say. You will be missed there, that I will assure you.
ReplyDeleteI do not J is Jeremy. He is a piece of crazy all of his own. At first I thought that Mitro person was Jeremy because it gave out clues that were a tell tale sign but the ruse has gotten very elaborate if it is one. She might just be another crazy. Madsion seems to abound with them.
ReplyDeleteYou are both right AJ and Dan. It is what it is. I don't want to change it. They should do what they want. You end up with the blog you deserve I quess. Good luck with that.
ReplyDeleteDan's blog is pretty great though and I encourage everyone to read it.
ReplyDeleteIt is called Life in the Great Midwest.
He does a great job with his buddies and you will enjoy it.
You don't check email much either, do you.
ReplyDeleteAlmost never. But I will now.
ReplyDeleteI went through my email and didn't see anything. Please resend to
ReplyDeletetrooperkirbyyork@live.com
You are right Madison has a shitload of totally crazy people and with the Walker stuff the crazy is full out pegged at a level of ten, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Once you get outside of the city and away from all the state, city, and university workers that suck on the govt. teat all day, the folk are pretty normal and nice. Just like in a lot of other places.
ReplyDeleteI have been trying to compose an appropriate comment about this situation, but every one I write contains a word that would make Chance the Gardener stamp his little foot and demand that Troop remove the "insult" (as if!) to his beloved "wife".
ReplyDeleteThe more I think about them the less I like them.
Back to work - one can be much more productive by ignoring that zoo over there.
Ruth Anne Adams said...
ReplyDeleteWill you still love us when you're rich and famous?
I'm pretty sure of it. That's what distinguishes TY from the rest of the Pack.
I appreciate your discretion Sixty. I might agree with your sentiments but why go there. We can have enough fun here without going there.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to give any amunition so to speak.
I might get famous or infamous but rich is stretching it.
ReplyDeleteIt would be great if it happens but I don't think so.
We shall see what we shall see.
Yeah, and heck, anger passes, but pixels are forever.
ReplyDeleteSixty Grit said...
ReplyDeleteYeah, and heck, anger passes...
...from generation to generation. Some hatreds have long outlasted the parchments they were first written on.
Done.
ReplyDeleteAwww. To the good old days!
ReplyDeleteTo a better future!
ReplyDeleteI would expect Meade to defend Ann, right or wrong. That is what a husband does.
ReplyDeleteShe is entitled to run her place the way she thinks best. We are entitled to leave.
Frankly you guys are a lot more funnier than what has been going on over there for a long time. My guess more of the old crew might be stopping in more often.
As entertaining the madness in Madison can be occasionally...there are other places in the world to talk about too. And it is not like a few of the Wisconsin folks are not here already to tell us about the newest trend in cheese curds or what the profession protest crowd are doing at the Wisconsin state capitol. And Ann rarely spoke about the Packers anyway (which might be mildly interesting to the rest of us).
The best revenge is living well.
Hey, it's Darcy!
ReplyDeleteNow it's a party!
Sorry to hear that.
ReplyDeleteI rarely comment but always enjoyed reading your comments. Sometimes enlightening, sometimes just funnier than shit.
The universal cri de coeur.
ReplyDelete