POWIP Piece of Work In Progress – Former Abode of Dan Collins

7Jan/1118

Dennis the Peasant Waves Adios

This morning, Serr8d brought the news in comments. So, we've lost Dennis the Peasant and Jules Crittenden, two of my faves, this year. As for why, I hope he doesn't mind my reproducing his whole post:

I'll be closing down Dennis the Peasant sometime between now and New Year's.

I've been doing DtP for six years, and the fact of the matter is simply that it is now time to move on. This due primarily to the growth of the two businesses I own (or partially own). They now require much more time and attention than they've been getting in the past. As this relates to cash accumulating in my pockets, I consider said development to be a Good Thing.

Beyond that, it's time for me to face up to the fact that the political blogosphere is a near complete bore.

There are two reasons for this boredom, as far as I am concerned. The first is as follows: Six years ago, the political blogosphere was not dominated by the money and resources of mainstream media and professional political advocacy groups. Now it is. The political blogosphere has now acquired all of the defects (and none of the virtues) of mainsteam and advocacy media. With money has come self-censorship and intellectual dishonesty.

The second reason is a function of the first: Simply put, the vast majority of the political blogosphere's heavy hitters aren't worth reading. Beyond being captives of those corporate and political interests who pay them, lots of those folks can't write, are remarkably uninformed, and quite a few are just plain stupid. They are paid to bring eyeballs. They are not paid to think. And you know what? It shows...

When it ain't fun anymore, it's time to move on.

I'm movin' on...

Jeff has often expressed his own exasperation with the way things have gotten, though more in the vein of "it's a cesspool." Comment, if you like.

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

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  1. serr8d
    January 7th, 2011 - 08:28

    I wonder if, when and if Allahpundit deigns to read this, he blushed ?

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    • Dan Collins
      January 7th, 2011 - 08:32

      Now, now. There’s no evidence Allahpundit has ever read this blog.

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    • Bob Reed
      January 7th, 2011 - 08:43

      I get the sense that HA is one of the sites that DtP is talking about. Funny how they suddenly stopped linking to guys like him and JeffG.

      I especially thought of that the other day, when the whole issue over editing the “N” word and “Injun” out of Twain arose.

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  2. Meep
    January 7th, 2011 - 08:28

    Wait, Jules Crittenden left?

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  3. Bob Reed
    January 7th, 2011 - 08:40

    Sorry to see him go. While I didn’t regularly visit DtP, he put up some pretty good stuff over the years. And he has a good point about the increasing domination of the political blogosphere by moneyed interests and MFM players. I’ve seen a big change in just the few years that I’ve been active, and I admit that I’m a bit sour on it as well; especially the “king-making”, traffic steering, ability of some sites, and the cliquish way they select guest contributors and distribute links.

    I wish him all the best in his buisness pursuits; as always, the best revenge is living well.

    And as we used to say, “never let them see you sweat”…

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  4. Meep
    January 7th, 2011 - 08:44

    In any case, I was blathering online well before the blogosphere (see here: http://www.marypat.org/stuff/nylife/nylife96.html ), so I am unlikely to stop just b/c the big guns “sold out”.

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  5. Patrick from Detroit
    January 7th, 2011 - 10:02

    I hate to see Dennis quit man. That sucks. :(

    Jules was a bit of a A.H. But He was decent to read.

    Honestly guys — I can relate. I have often thought about just stopping. My reason for originally beginning to blog is now gone. George W. Bush, believe it or not, was the reason for my starting to blog, at first as a half-assed left of Center. Then, after the Democratic Party went start raving nuts — I switched sides. Many people, possibly some that read here, think I am a fake. Which is totally not true. I watched the Democratic party do EXACTLY what the Republicans did with George W. Bush and that was follow him over the cliff. It is sad thing to see; but it happened.

    Anyhow, There are times that I want to write. But I figure, why bother? It is just not worth the effort — plus, there is a lot of stupidity on the right. I can relate to the owner of “Right Wing Nut House” owner Rick Moran. It just does not turn me on anymore…and I feel like the guy on the Island anymore.

    Anyhow, it sad to see ‘em go. But, I totally understand why they are quitting.

    -Pat

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    • Dan Collins
      January 7th, 2011 - 10:24

      I’ve never questioned your sincerity, Pat. Maybe your sanity, once or twice. ;-P

      Anyway, the question is whether there’s too much corporatization and centralization of the political blogosphere. It’s true that my links to Insty and Hot Air and other sites aren’t reciprocated. That’s part of the serious message behind the humor of The Island of Misfit Bloggers. I’d hate to stop linking those sites, because they’ve got writers who post stuff of real worth, but maybe Jeff was right: at some point, there has to be some reciprocity.

      I have to admit, too, that the centralization has affected my own reading habits, and not for the better. That’s why I’m less and less interested in being involved in the Kerfuffle du Jour. It’s also the reason that I’ve begun to rely less and less on aggregation sites like Insty’s, or Memeorandum, or the others, and more on my own RSS feeds, which I can manipulate to give me information that is peripheral to the major discussions, but just as important, or stimulating.

      Also, boobs.

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      • Patrick from Detroit
        January 7th, 2011 - 10:43

        Boobs?!?!?

        Heh…

        Anyhow, I hear ya. Actually, I find HotAir to be one of the saner sites out there on the right — and I do not mean AllahPundit either. Ed Morrissey is quite the sensible. Of course, AllahPundit is great too.

        I know what you mean about the linkage. I’ve never been linked by anyone big ever. Insty Linked me once or twice and one of Malkin’s fan boys raised a stink about it. I like Malkin, but she’s pulled some yellow journalism crap in the past….and one time, I decided that turn about was fair play and did something about it. Whether you all want to admit it or not. There seems to be a double standard with her. I do admire her defending the Military and her Conservative principles, but does she have to be such as asshat about it? yeeesh

        Not only that, but Robert Stacy McCain folded to one of Malkin’s fan boys and no longer links me. Which is quite funny considering his no-so-far distant past…. gonna call me a Jew-Hater, when he himself is a card carrying member of the League of the South. In a sane world, HE would be ignored and I would be the superstar of the Conservative Blogsphere.

        Anyhow, the corporate business does not bother me. If someone is getting a writing gig and getting paid for it. God Bless ‘em I say. However, the ignoring of the rest of us, sorta sucks. But I am the pariah of the right. All because I don’t happen to agree with the likes of William Kristol, and Norman Podhartz. So, that makes me a hater. But hey, Pat Buchanan, Ron Paul and Taki Theodoracopulos aren’t loved either. So, I can relate. I just wish people would read my blog and judge for themselves, instead of listening to the batshit lies of people with a farking agenda.

        Just my thoughts.

        -Pat

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        • Meep
          January 7th, 2011 - 10:47

          Yeah, I enjoy reading stuff at Taki’s site. That guy is a hoot. Collects a lot of interesting people.

          I don’t like going to places that tell me stuff I already know. I go to all sorts of sites, but really? The main place I hang out is the Actuarial Outpost. Just chatting with my own kind. And emailing amongst the various “Pension Tsunami” crowd. There’s a bunch of us out there.

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  6. serr8d
    January 7th, 2011 - 20:34

    There’s only a few good bloggers left in the Blogosphere; look at NRO’s crop as example. This piece by Kevin D. Williamson (whom I’d never heard of before today) answers Paul Krugman’s garbage directly and succinctly. That’s what I’m looking for in a blogger. I found that from…where else? Twitter.

    Oh, and Jeff G, Iowahawk, and a very few more of outstanding talent are simply not replaceable.

    I don’t read MM or HA anymore, unless it’s absolutely necessary. Insty is a bore. Twitter is much more effective for insty-gathering of information. Many bloggers hate the Twitter for taking so many eyeballs off ‘their’ turfs, and some even realize that Twitter is a growing force that tends to ‘level’ the playing fields, much as did the advent of email tend to ‘flatten’ many corporations.

    We should promote Twitter first and many of these ‘mainstream’ dinosaur bloggers less, AFAIC.

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  7. serr8d
    January 7th, 2011 - 20:42

    Wait…isn’t that that ‘Pat’ guy who said something terrible about a blogger’s dead wife or something ? And got tossed off of pw for combatshititive craziness turned up to eleven ?

    Dude, you are a leper. Go drop the rest of your face somewhere else.

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    • Dan Collins
      January 8th, 2011 - 08:30

      Serr, Pat’s apologized for that, and Mike Hendrix accepted the apology long ago. It’s his choice, as far as I’m concerned.

      I understand your POV and respect it. We’re just going to focus on present issues as much as possible as we move on.

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