I noticed that I had been pinged – a very rare occurrence for this blog – so I read through this post at Right On Red. Johnny Walker Red makes a good point: few of the bloggers I read, which are mostly lefties, had anything at all to say on the subject of the Beslan massacre. The only time the subject showed up on this blog was when I noted the harsh rhetoric coming out of that country in response. In retrospect, this was an appallingly callow reaction to the event itself, and I regret not having given more thought or attention to this horrific attack.

At the risk of appearing defensive, let me try to sort out a couple of reasons why my own response was so muted, as I’ve been pondering lately my reading and writing habits, and my responsibility to this blog.

First, I don’t consider myself a news source of any kind, so I don’t tend to link to news stories that are widely reported, or for which I don’t have a special feeling or an individual “take.” The massacre in Beslan was a major news story, has been widely reported and written about, and there’s only one possible reaction to it: outrage, mixed with immense sadness and sympathy for the families and friends of the victims.

Secondly, I don’t tend to pay attention to stories of foreign terrorism. I don’t say this as a defense; just the opposite, I think this is a problem. Stories of bombings in other countries have become commonplace enough that on some level I’ve tuned them out. A car bomb in the Middle East or Africa or Australia, or anywhere besides the US and it’s a quick prayer for the victims and I shake my head and wonder how anger can become so entrenched and intractable and I’m on to the next news story. Sometimes I don’t even give it that much time. I think I’ve become so dulled to reports of foreign terrorism that I didn’t pay attention to the incident in Beslan. In my knee-jerk, reptilian-brain first response, I lumped it in with “another international terrorist incident” and glossed over the details. I’m not in any way proud of this.

Thirdly, I think I’ve placed myself in an echo chamber of sorts. I pay far more attention to bloggers whose views I agree with than those I don’t. I pass on… and I’m not even sure why I do this, to be honest… links, quotes, and thoughts that reinforce my point of view rather than really chew on something and consider it. If Beslan wasn’t showing up in Left Blogistan, it wasn’t showing up in this blog. That’s a weakness. That’s a problem.

Look, I don’t know if I’m going to change what I do. I don’t expect to become an Atrios or a Brad DeLong or a Glenn Reynolds. Mostly I’m doing this for myself, not because I expect to become an invaluable font of punditry and outrage. This blog tracks the stuff that passes through my sphere of attention. However, I am part of the blogosphere, and as Johnny Walker Red suggests, perhaps my side of it isn’t always paying attention when it should. I’ve added Right On Red to my RSS reader, and I’ll keep working to expand the scope of what I read.

In the meantime, I urge the three readers who visit this blog regularly to head over to Johnny’s post on this subject so that you can visit the blogs he mentions for details about the Russian School Tragedy. The Russians need our prayers now, and the victims deserve our attention and respect.

More stuff you should be reading instead of this lousy blog…

• Yeah, see, this is why tough talk on foreign policy can backfire on you. Do we really need four more years of an administration that doesn’t understand that they’re not just talking to their base?
• A very powerful post by Jeff Jarvis at Buzz Machine about his memories of 9/11. It’s cliché to call it brave writing, but that’s what it is.
• Damn you, Bérubé; now I’m deeply depressed. According to you, there’s no arguing with the wingnuts.
• The Poor Man reads Kitty Kelley’s new book and uncovers a few tasty morsels.
• Nice catch from Sisyphus Shrugged. When asked about the proposed reforms to US Intelligence, here’s what Donald Rumsfeld had to say:

  “You know, a lot of damage can be done in the name of reform, if one gets in a hurry and doesn’t think it through carefully,”

• More Rumsfeld dopery via First Draft: The Guardian asked Donald Rumsfeld about the rising death toll of American troops in Iraq. His response?

  He noted that death toll of victims of terrorism – including the some 3,000 lost in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks – has far dwarfed 1,000.

  Maybe Rummy doesn’t do math. Does he seriously not get that that makes 4,000 Americans dead? There are tens of thousands of dead Iraqis, a minimal number of dead al Qaeda. We’re not ahead here.

• Two by way of Kevin Drum: First the Rolling Stone article that paints an ugly portrait of Dick Cheney. Second, Dan Froomkin’s rundown of the week in store for Bad News Bush. (Use Bug Me Not if you need to log in.)
• Via Holden at First Draft, I know numbers don’t tell the whole story, but the story these numbers tell is pretty appalling. (The Independent)
• Also from Holden, Pat Buchanan has just blown my mind.

More stuff you should be reading instead of this lousy blog…

• Via Brown Equals Terrorist, we find the following lead sentence in Bruce Schneier’s Newsday article:

  Imagine a list of suspected terrorists so dangerous that we can’t ever let them fly, yet so innocent that we can’t arrest them – even under the draconian provisions of the Patriot Act.

  Doesn’t really make sense, does it? Read the rest of the article.

• Echoing Atrios, we’re currently at 999 US fatalities in Iraq. More than 800 of these have occurred since Bush declared “Mission Accomplished.”
• White House Child Sex Ring?! WTF? (Atrios) I’m not sure I get this. Is this for real?
• Much as I’d like to see a more positive political campaign this year, I don’t in my heart of hearts believe it’s going to work. You simply can’t fight a clean fight when your opponent is fighting dirty. That’s why calling the President petrified is probably the right strategy. (The Talent Show)

More stuff you should be reading instead of this lousy blog…

• Swift Boat Veterans for Revenge hack Roy F. “Latch” Hoffman ordered a swift boat commander in Vietnam to shoot unarmed farmers. What a charming guy he must have been in his youth. (Eschaton)
• Meanwhile, Bush’s National Guard records are missing a few key documents that might explain his extended leave from that organization. (Washington Monthly) Anyone talking about this besides the left blogosphere?
• Rising Hegemon ‘splains why the Bush Bounce won’t last. (via First Draft)

More stuff you should be reading instead of this lousy blog…

• Excellent post by Peter Sagal, filling in for Adam Felber at Fanatical Apathy, “On the Efficacy of Lying.”
• Digby says this campaign is about testosterone. I think he’s right. I feel it. I want to rip the flesh of my Republican foes, to body slam and elbow and head-butt every liar who sullies our flag by supporting an indefensible President. I want Republican to taste smoking defeat. Giving in to that kind of blood lust is going to turn a lot of people off. Not giving in to it is going to allow the liars and mudslingers to win.
• I think Wikis have enormous potential, yet there are some weaknesses. The authoritativeness of Wikis, for example, has been challenged from several sources lately. Though these tests will be disruptive in the short term, I have no doubt that the increased scrutiny will cause changes to the Wiki systems which will ultimately make them better. (via Slashdot)
• Dave Pollard takes on Corporate Apartheid.

More stuff you should be reading instead of this lousy blog.

• I hadn’t been following the Russian terrorism story too closely, but the response coming out of Russia to the school shootout in Beslan (BBC) is frightening. From Tim Oren’s Due Diligence:

  Russia has now had its 9/11, and unlike our case, the enemy is right next door. As Trent Telenko put it, “Russia lacks America’s power, but it also lacks America’s self-restraint.” It was Russians, after all, who coined [the word pogrom].

  Hopefully things will calm down a bit, but I expect that depends on what else the terrorists have in store. Brad DeLong has more.

• Hmmm… Interesting. BMI turns a record profit despite P2P piracy. (Ars Technica) Now, how did that happen?
• Wow. James Wolcott. The boy can write.
• Kevin Drum argues that John Kerry could lose this election if he doesn’t make the case that he’s stronger on national security than President Bush. I suspect that Kevin’s right, although I’m not sure that domestic policy matters aren’t important. I think that there might be a strong case to be made on Kerry’s side that Bush’s response to 9/11 has demonstrably weakened this country and the rest of the world. And how can the Kerry campaign not be hammering Bush for cutting support for first responders?
• A very on-point post over at The Talent Show regarding Bush’s plan to have us all keep our own savings accounts for health and retirement.

Here’s more stuff you should be reading instead of this lousy blog…

• Sincere best wishes to President Clinton for successful surgery and a speedy recovery.
• Slate’s Fred Kaplan sets the record straight on Cheney’s and Miller’s speeches from Wednesday night.
• Very nice. The Kerry campaign is responding to the President’s speech with facts that they’re actually sourcing. Excellent! (via First Draft)
• Personally, I wish Kerry would just go out and read this assessment of our CEO President by Juan Cole. I think this is language most Americans could understand. (Kevin Drum also has some ideas for Kerry’s campaign.)
• This picture of Crazy Zell just makes me laugh.
• What was up with the RNC video about Bush pitching from the mound at Yankee stadium? I mean, that’s something to be proud of about our President? That he could pitch a baseball while wearing a bulletproof vest? That was their big closer?
• Whoops! So, Arnold makes shit up after all. (Sid’s Fishbowl)
• Sid also points us to this lie from Bush’s speech last night. This kind of thing makes me sick to my stomach. I feel manipulated and saddened.
• Via The Poor Man, Dan Froomkin runs down a bunch of stuff that the President didn’t say.
• Josh Marshall points us to a Washington Post article which tries to sort out the GOP’s distortions of Kerry’s record.
• Have I mentioned Bérubé? You should read Bérubé

My lovely wife points me to an article by Tim Hutten of the LA Times. She says:

“This writer eloquently captures many of my thoughts about politicians and pundits of late. Thought it may have a place somewhere in your blog.”

You got it, babe. Hutten writes of the polarizing polemics which are gaining ground today at the expense of persuasive arguments. It’s a good article and very… persuasive. Read the whole thing at the Seattle Times’ site.

I’m having trouble with some of Bush’s speech, but it’s not horrible. Bush is no Zell Miller, let’s just put it that way.

But I really don’t get what’s up with the protesters inside the MSG. What, for the love of Pete, do they think they’re achieving? I’m a Kerry supporter and I’m turned off by this stuff. That can’t be good.

Ugh. Pataki. He just conflated the war on terror with the war in Iraq. Now he’s conflating The Statue of Liberty with George W. Bush. Ugh. I’ve got this terrible vision of W. in a big green dress.