December 8, 2011

Isthmus ousts its conservative blogger, David Blaska.

Pathetic!

Blaska's a terrific blogger, but it was obvious that the lefty readers of our left-leaning newspaper's website couldn't handle a sharp point of view humorously challenging their pat opinions.

From the link, which goes to an Isthmus discussion forum: "Firing Blaska was a candy-assed move. Isthmus is [a] rag. Own it." Ha ha. Meade wrote that.

57 comments:

traditionalguy said...

Echo chambers require tuning so that only the desired noise can be heard.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Too bad for him. I hope it turns out to be the best thing that ever happened to him.

That said, libs and cons all need a nice comfortable echo chamber where we hear things we already know. I was glad when Fox news got rid of dopey Alan Colmes.

Chuck66 said...

Its been said (by me for one) that often in a fair and open debate, the left:

A) Doesn't do so well.

B) Gets angry when someone has a different opinion than theirs.

This is due to the lack of intellectual diversity in their lives. They are not used to having to confront opposing viewpoints, and having to defend their views.

An "we are all correct" echo chamber does not make you a good debator. It also makes you intolerant.

Chuck66 said...

AJ, FNC does cator to conservative-Americans, but they do allow differing viewpoints on their shows. Al Sharpton is a regular guest. Do you think Ann Coulter would be allowed to speak in Madison?

Chip S. said...

I wonder what Mr. Blaska's screen name is here.

David Blaska said...

David Blaska?

Chip S. said...

A likely story...byro

test said...

"That said, libs and cons all need a nice comfortable echo chamber where we hear things we already know. I was glad when Fox news got rid of dopey Alan Colmes."

The best discussions aren't among those who routinely agree or among those whose worldviews are radically different. The best discussions are among those with common values who weight them differently.

Of course you also have to have a certain amount of goodwill present which excludes virtually all leftists. But since their only value is to drive anyone who doesn't agree with them from society they're excluded under rule one anyway.

Althouse, Kaus, and McArdle (popular centrists or moderate liberals) are interesting not because I always agree with them but because their positions intelligently account for facts people like Klein, Yglesias, or anyone else at the Atlantic simply refuse to admit exist. It's quite interesting to see how people arrive at different conclusions. But those wishing away the facts that don't fit their predetermined preferences are a total waste of time.

coolkevs said...

I'm sure Blaska would be commenting on this one:
http://www.wisn.com/politics/29937613/detail.html
"We don't want people to slow down and stop. We don't want that. We also don't want people to think this is hopeless because it's not. It's something we're very confident we can do," Zielinski said
Trouble in River..er.. Lake City??
We'll miss you Dave - let us know of your next outpost!

Henry said...

@Chip S -- Zing! You just cracked me up.

Meade said...

Chip S, this your first warning.

(kidding)

edutcher said...

And here I thought the Lefties dug free speech.

MadisonMan said...

A likely story...byro

(laugh)

MadisonMan said...

And here I thought the Lefties dug free speech.

What is preventing Blaska from talking? Nothing as far as I can tell. He's free to blogspot or whatever away if he so chooses. blas.ka? (Is that Kazakhstan?)

If Isthmus thinks they can make more money without him, then it's a good business move.

harrogate said...

"Echo chambers require tuning so that only the desired noise can be heard."

Traditional guy, that is well said.

Do you seek out, engage, or otherwise contemplate without caricaturing, liberal points of view? Do you sometimes find yourself ceding the validity of, or even yourself earnestly articulating, an argument that would be considered liberal by, say, this blog and most of its commenters?

Also, do you project the same condescension towards listeners to talk radio or viewers of FNC?

Anonymous said...

Smooth mov, Chip S, goin all Alzinsky n pushinnn dat negatal in2 positist land. I'm byro! I'm byro! Jayz hed gonna go splodyy.

garage mahal said...

And here I thought the Lefties dug free speech.

This reminds of the McKenna/Blaska/Meade Cry Fest about all the horrible liberal media biases in Madison....3 conservatives talking freely on publicly owned airwaves, in Madison.

Michael said...

edutcher: "And here I thought the Lefties dug free speech."

They do so long as it is not offensive.

Spread Eagle said...

Colmes is still on FNC, he just isn't paired with Hannity anymore. And he's still as annoying as ever.

Michael said...

Madison Man: You are quite right about the free speech issue/Blaska. They simply dumped him, they didn't shut him up. A difference with no distinction. I don't think he is acting like a lefty band thinking their free speech is being squelched because stations find their content objectionable.

Wince said...

Well, you can see from his Blogger photo (above), Blaska is a puppet of the 1%.

Patrick said...

"3 conservatives talking freely on publicly owned airwaves, in Madison."

Garage: Does that happen much in Madison? Your ability to recall the specific instance seems to indicate that it is the exception rather than the rule. Up here in the northland, the occasional conservative gets on state owned radio, but usually as an anthropological study of something very odd.

Meade said...

"If Isthmus thinks they can make more money without him, then it's a good business move."

Agreed. We just think they need help in their thinking process is all.

garage mahal said...

Patrick
McKenna is on every day here in Madison for four hours on 1310. Before that is Rush Limbaugh for three hours.

Patrick said...

Madison Man, free speech can be more than just the obligation to provide a forum. No one (sane) would suggest the Isthmus must provide a forum for Mr. Blaska. What's notable is that the Isthmus had one blogger who dissented from the company line, and now has none. That speaks to the ability of the left to engage with differing view points, and limits speech, even if it has a right to do so. Overwhelmingly left wasn't enough. Had to be 100%.

Patrick said...

Roger that, Garage. By publicly owned airwaves, I assumed you meant NPR and the like. Is there any conservative presence on NPR in WI?

Alex said...

Typical garage - free speech for me, not for THEE.

Sofa King said...

If Isthmus thinks they can make more money without him, then it's a good business move.



So what you're saying is that lefty rag things it can make more money by getting rid of dissenting voices.

But that doesn't mean that lefties dislike free speech! They just don't want to hear it.

kjbe said...

Blaska's a big boy. He'll be fine.

damikesc said...

So what you're saying is that lefty rag things it can make more money by getting rid of dissenting voices.

But that doesn't mean that lefties dislike free speech! They just don't want to hear it.


I don't feel these work together.

Perhaps they truly do believe removing Blaska will help business.

If so, they should have turfed him.

...but, odds are, they will recognize that their stuff is rather dull. Much like Huffington Post went to crap once Gutfeld left.

Peter Hoh said...

Maybe New Media Meade can pick him up.

Mark said...

I'm surprised he's making such a whine about it, or his friends are.

It's not like being a blogger at Isthmus is some huge important position at a major media organization.

Ann has no organization behind her yet has plenty of readers and respect. If Blaska is worth reading, making a blog is pretty simple.

I'm sure the rants will continue, since he's collecting one of those fat civil pensions he complains about.

Anonymous said...

R newzies bidness or public servicss? In dis country, deyr bidness Always been so Liberty rulezzz here

As FNC haz showd (wit its 50% share), a free markt in newzz will hv lots of opinios, lotsa choice, lotsa info 2 pls ya.

Only n monopoly land, do u need token court jesterzz to tell d wyz King hees nekid. Cept, every once a while, when d King wasnt gettin any, d jester lost hizz hed.

Curious George said...

"garage mahal said...
Patrick
McKenna is on every day here in Madison for four hours on 1310. Before that is Rush Limbaugh for three hours."

Pretty sure it's 3-6 for McKenna, Hannity has one hour of his show before that (2-3) and Rush is 11-2.

Sigivald said...

Marshal said: The best discussions are among those with common values who weight them differently.

There's a lot of truth in that.

I think the biggest problem with discussions between people with radically different valuations is not so much that the valuations are different, as that people so rarely seem to realize (let alone actually explore and make explicit) that the reason A and B totally disagree is not that one-of-them is Evil-or-stupid and the other is Good-or-smart.

I've seen a lot of very heated disagreement where one or both parties didn't realize (indeed, would not consider even when it was mentioned) that the differences were in significantly different priors.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Chuck- I agree with you. I was not suggesting FNC didn't present opposing points of view. Just that Colmes is especially annoying even for a lib.

Anonymous said...

1. Andinista, here's the link you meant to click. Best of luck.

2. "By publicly owned airwaves, I assumed you meant NPR and the like. Is there any conservative presence on NPR in WI?"

Yeah, it's funny how, even in years when Republican Party candidates get more than 50% of the vote, the "public" airwaves still seem to be overwhelmingly owned by those churning out left-leaning crap. When exactly does the other 50% get even a fraction of their airtime on the "public" airwaves? (Oh, yeah, apparently once a year three guys are allowed to get together for a talk.)

garage mahal said...

Yeah, it's funny how, even in years when Republican Party candidates get more than 50% of the vote, the "public" airwaves still seem to be overwhelmingly owned by those churning out left-leaning crap.

What? Radio is dominated by right wing talkers.

Petunia said...

"Public airwaves" isn't just radio. There's this new-fangled tee vee that the whippersnappers watch.

Now get off my lawn!

A. Shmendrik said...

Even shouting off the rooftop is better than appearing on the Isthmus site. Every time I visited it was wading through dreck to get to his column.

Maybe Althouse should make the move to a dedicated site and pick up Blaska as a contributor.

LordSomber said...

"They are not used to having to confront opposing viewpoints, and having to defend their views."

If they did they might hone their own arguments better.

I don't understand how people who consider themselves "open-minded" can be so incurious.
Or is it insecurity about the strength of their own arguments?

JSF said...

When have Liberals ever supported the Free Speech of those they disagreed with?

I think that stopped the day when Speaker O'Neill died.

Seriously, awsk a Liberal about Fox news and Talk radio and they react as if the Devil himself were at these places.

But you will never hear a Liberal DEFEND Fox or Talk radio hosts to speak.

I await Alpha Liberal to explain why this is OK.

(Hint: It ain't)

Anonymous said...

garage mahal sez radio izz dominal by riitwing tokkers

Lessee Leftos gotss in both radio n TV: ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, NPR, CPB, all majr newzrags, magazzzes ... wan me go on? Riitiz got FOX and WSJ. U wan trade?

AM radio wz abandod by everrbod aftr 1970 whn FM went bigggtime. AM owners sezz we no givup, we try sumpin neww, aanyting, find wat gets da peeps lisssen. Lotsa experimate latr, d forma 4 bizz success izz found 2 be: Limbaugh and ilk.

N fact, I member in d 60's wen AM radio talkrz wer all proggros, tight wit d como man ginst da bigzz. NPR sucked away all deyr oxy. Now, dere are still progro statios, Pacifica n such. Doze guys r fire-breathers, 2 hot 4 hi-n-mity NPR.

So leftos gotz monops n all d bigg newzies (cept FOX), riitiez got 2 share AM. Infact, riito success on AM payz d bills dat keepss progros on d AM air. Mor ears 2 share and compete for.

Anonymous said...

Hey kcom, itz d Internet futurr, get wit it New spellin rulzz, no xtra lettrs Yr @ a historial langual singularity, like frm Chaucer to Shakespeare U don wan be lef behind?

Orthografy izza theory bein falsifi It wz for d industrial age, wee past dat Now, spellin izz based n emo, e.g. hapy, happie, hapyy, happyyy, happpiiieee Gotit? Dey all same word, each mean sumpin diff Txt now richer

Wally Kalbacken said...

Yowza dat, Andinista!

ndspinelli said...

Wasn't Balska on the "new Media Meade Blog" entry a few days ago? If I remember that got ~18 hits or so...w/ Blaska being one of the commenters.

ndspinelli said...

I guess Blaska solo gets ~6 times the hit.

Just sayn'

Brian Hancock said...

How many trees must die and gas must burn in order to distribute a free paper around Madison that is only know for it's classified?

Michael Haz said...

If Isthmus thinks they can make more money without him, then it's a good business move.

Whoa there, Mad Man! That's a gosh darn Republican thing to say! Making more money is okay? Nosiree, corporations like the one that owns the Isthmus should not profit from the work of Dave Blaska and others. Spread that money around! Profit is evil!

Michael Haz said...

I can see Meade and Blaska starting their own website - New Media Madison.

Madison truly needs it.

tiger said...

FTFA: 'garage mahal said...

And here I thought the Lefties dug free speech.

This reminds of the McKenna/Blaska/Meade Cry Fest about all the horrible liberal media biases in Madison....3 conservatives talking freely on publicly owned airwaves, in Madison.'

Notthisshitagain.jpg.

One the typical arguments from the Left: The fact that we let Conservatives speak means that WE are not biased.

I can't believe you trot this nonsense out as proof of anything except your own inability to understand it proves nothing of the sort.

As the Left likes to claim about 'racism' there is SYSTEMIC Left wing bias in the MSM and public radio. Letting others with contradictory viewpoints speak occasionally doesn't negate the very obvious libral slant of the news and also of what they *don't* report.

Add garage to the list of Kleins and yglesias who refuse to admit to facts that don't fit their world views.

tiger said...

Hey garagie?

A troll is a troll and you fit the bill.

Nothing but baiting, manipulative comments, straw man arguments and denial.

Limbaugh, McKenna and FNC proves there is no Liberal bias in the media?

You would be funny if you weren't so sad.

JAL said...

@ TradGuy
Echo chambers require tuning so that only the desired noise can be heard.

Sometimes all you have then is a vacuum. Or dead air.

Milwaukee said...

Garage:
What? Radio is dominated by right wing talkers.


That should be "Commercial radio is dominated by right wing talkers." That is, on stations that must pay the bills by selling advertising. They have listeners, they sell advertising, they make money.

Now, on National People's Radio, they have public funds to spew a liberal agenda. Further, advertisers to NPR are making charitable donations. Were they paying for advertising, then the stations receiving those fees would need to pay taxes on them. Those stations would go out of business because of too small audiences.

Liberal-socialist-progressive-fascists want to make moves to restrict "right wing" stations. Can't make a decent argument, so need to cheat. (See Chuck66, at 2:15pm.)

Milwaukee said...

The Supreme Court is full of Catholics and Jews. Both have a tradition of intellectual honesty: of discussing a point until they reach consensus of what is right. Protestants have the annoying habit of arguing, and then splitting the church. Godless people have even less reason to resolve an issue. So, what Chuck66 said.

Anonymous said...

"Hey kcom..."

Yeah, I stopped reading after that. Again, best of luck, Andanista. You're going to need it.

Mr. Forward said...

Me calling the public radio begathon:
"Do you have any books for premiums?"

Phone volunteer: "We have lots of books."

Me: "Do you have any that don't slant to the left?"

long pause

Phone volunteer: "We have a cook book."