Blog World Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder

Ever the tiny toad in my (actually a Crawly Amphibian) still small pond, I watched with interest as Mary Katherine Ham interviewed the Big Amphibians, actually Higher Beings, at the Blog World Expo in Las Vegas. A couple things struck me.

First, the Lefties they served on panels with can't seem to conceive that the Right side of the blogosphere is motivated by love for blogging, ideas, persuasion, etc. There must be some nefarious funder! There must be some hidden agenda! Or the latest theory, there must be an overarching "organization"! Or, it could be that there are a lot of really smart people doing it for the love. I thought the Left were idealists. They remind me, again, to be aware of what people accuse you of, they're probably revealing themselves.

Second, those on the Right are funny. Nothing, not even Cystic Fibrosis, is so important or weighty that there isn't some balance and perspective. Those on the Left seem forever angry and angst-ridden anticipating the tragedy that was or is or will come to be. It's no wonder Apocalypse Now is one of the fave movies. No matter what's happening, it's always an apocalypse. It's the raison d'etre. And they say that Bush has Armageddon fantasies.

Third, the Blogging right is smart. If the Left side of the blogosphere is the Lymbic system on hallucinogens all raw, conspiratorial, emotion, the Right side is the Frontal lobe after a cup of coffee--alert, quick and a bit hyper-nerd. There's a scholarly sensibility to the Righties. They're the new intelligentsia and intellectuals. Some actually serve at institutions of higher learning, but most don't. They're too busy working real jobs, staying in touch with real people, and have a notion of how real policies affect the real world.

Ms. Ham's video makes me want to visit Vegas next year. I would love to meet the Milbloggers, especially. Rock on you guys! And I'm jealous she got to hang out with Bill Roggio and Michael Totten, two of my faves. And maybe Michael Yon could extricate himself from some Baghdad bust up to party in Vegas. I'd buy the drinks, Michael! (Yes, I'm married, I just love Michael's writing.)

Another favored group are the psych bloggers--Dr. Sanity, Shrink and Siggie would be good drinking buddies, too. And maybe we could pull in some of the anonymous bloggers who I love--they could just walk around in burqas!

Looked like fun, Ms. Ham, maybe next time!