Apparently the world is running low on stupid, so Tony Pierce (aka ‘he who still thinks it is cool and original to not capitalize’) has decided to pitch in:
now im not saying that Charles Johnson and Roger L. Simon are in bed with the Bush Administration, or the Instapundit. those guys are fair and balanced. any time the Republicans make horrible mistakes, the first people to point them out are Little Green Footballs and Professor Reynolds.
but i am saying that in light of the latest example of Propaganda from Above – Pajamas Media is starting to look fishier and fishier.
Johnson and Reynolds ran super tight ships at LGF and Instapundit.com – why is Pajamas Media such a clusterfuck of sloppiness and confusion? Could it be that its a reflection of their donors: BushCo? Could it be because Johnson et al have long-term guaranteed contracts that has nothing to do with ad revenue, but instead has to do with keeping the Administration happy with pro-Bush coverage, that they simply dont care about the details of their goofy site – just keep it rolling and keep it Right.
And why did Tim Blair bail out once he came to America and saw OSM/Pajamas up close. Did he see the puppet strings and piss his pants?
That is right. You caught us. Paid shills for the Bush administration. Or is it the JOOS we work for?
And with that, back to my shameless promotion of the administration. Oh yeah. I haven’t written a positive thing about this administration since… well… probably around Terri Schiavo.
dumber… than… a… bag… of… hammers…
*** Update ***
Just go read Joe Katzman, and in particular this rebuttal to the horse manure Tony is spreading.
Steve S
Damn, I thought you were going to link to a Jeff “Sharpton” Goldstein post.
stickler
Lie down with dogs …
John S.
You’re a little late to jump on the ‘outraged’ bandwagon.
And the implied anti-semitic bullshit is, well, just bullshit. But that was your pal Jeff G’s knee-jerk reaction to Tony’s post, too.
I’ll just chalk this up to one of Cole’s little ‘tantrums’ about something because you entirely miss the point.
yet another jeff
Uh oh…I sense that a rant about how using the word “jooos” to make fun of anti-semites is in itself anti-semetic will be coming up later in the thread.
But, why are capitals only mostly used? Is that on purpose?
Davebo
John S.
Jeff is sort of funny that way. He’ll be quick to point out for instance that he can strongly disagree with Murtha but still respect his service.
But he reserves the right to blatantly play the race card, apparantly pulling John’s strings too, whenever anyone suggests something he disagrees with.
Despite how perfectly plausible the suggestion may be.
And of course, when called on the comment by other commenters, well.. Jeff had
other priorities I guess you’d say.
John Cole
You can chalk it up to me getting sick and tired of being accused of being a shill for someone or another simply because I have chosen a different revenue stream than blogads.
And you can chalk it up to me getting a little sick and tired of chuckleheads like Pierce deciding the way to get some attention for themselves is by smearing me.
And you can chalk it up to me getting sick and tired of having to deal with crap like this- even if some Jewish group was fronting Roger and Charles the money (who knows why venture capitalists front money for things), you would still be accusing me of saying things only for money, which pisses me off.
John Cole
Tony singled out Jeff, and he and others siezed on the Jewish bit- and you guys are attacking Jeff.
Go figure.
Paddy O'Shea
The article “Is George Bush The Worst President Ever” is now in its sixth day on the Yahoo News “Most Popular” list.
Gotta love the zeitgeist.
http://news.yahoo.com
Justin Slotman
You should just turn this place into a Kevin Pittsnogle fan blog, John–the whole world will love you, and the money will POUR in.
Davebo
Just where exactly did Tony single out Jeff?
Davebo
Either in the post or the comments?
First I saw Jeff mentioned was when he played his race card in the comments.
guyermo
Does raving over some poll watching academicBush’s Plan for Victory in Iraq count as writing positively about the administration?
Steve
Ok, I read Pierce’s whole post, and I don’t see anywhere that he “seized on the Jewish bit,” nor do I think he singled out Jeff at all. Maybe you’re referring to some other post.
Pierce’s point seemed to be not that some sinister Jewish cabal is behind Pajamas Media, but that it’s possible their secret source of venture capital has to do with the Bush Administration. I mean, it’s a far-fetched theory, but it has nothing to do with the Jews whatsoever, and he does have a point that this administration has sponsored propaganda virtually everywhere you turn.
Richard Silverstein
I wish you’d left me, my blog & my blog post out of this stupid argument. But since you haven’t, let me point out that your characterization of my post is completely tendentious & has nothing to do with what I actually wrote.
I never criticized PJM as being organized, run or controlled by “Jews.” I merely stated that the politics of many of its members was hard-right Likud. Another blogger, Micah Sifry has published an account saying that the primary funder of the enterprise is a conservative AIPAC-type.
I criticize politics, not religion. After all, I’m Jewish. I don’t care about what their religion is. I care about their shallow, ideologically rigid neocon views on the Mideast conflict.
SeesThroughIt
Is this OSM vs. Pajamas Media thing just a VHS vs. Beta rehash or what? Seriously, I’m not at all paying attention here, and it seems like it’s kind of silly unless there’s some significant subtext I’m lacking.
leo
I think Jeff brought up the Joos himself in comments, no?
Steve
OSM and Pajamas Media are the same entity, so no, it’s not exactly VHS vs. Beta.
John S.
John, nobody is accusing YOU of anything.
If someone posited that it’s a possibility that right-wing bloggers like to fuck goats, would you consider it a personal indictment and fly off the handle?
And Tony did not single Jeff out, though it is touching that you are acting as his knight in shining armor.
srv
CBS poll shows an uptick for GW, but I find the “Why did Bush Admin decide to go to war?” most interesting:
17% Oil
15% Terrorism
13% Finish daddy’s war
10% Depose Saddam
9% Find WMDs
8% 9/11
4% Protect US
2% Cheney told him to
2% Promote Democracy in ME
I suppose it’s time for another round of this was really about Democracy again, because it looks like nobody bought it then or is buying it now. Yet that is the cause we’re supposedly fighting for now.
doinkman
John why don’t you point to where Tony singled out Jeff.
Jeff was the first to say Jews, in Tony’s comments, and he was joking.
get it straight
John Cole
My bad- I got the post date backwards. Tony responded to Jeff in the comments with this post.
Regardless, the insinuation is clear, despite Mr. Silverstein’s protestations (really- calling American bloggers Likudniks tells me what you are all about).
Two quick points- Tony is specifically calling members of PJ paid shills- that includes me- and that is not the same as just saying ‘right wing’ bloggers are xxx.
Second- I find some sort of poeticv justice in Tony having to prove he is not being anti-Semitic- after all, because of him, I am forced to defend myself against charges of being a Bush shill. And there is less evidence that I am a paid shill.
John S.
Sorry John, but Tony did little more than invoke a Glenn Reynoldsian hypothetical that you are taking as an indictment.
As I posted here three days ago, I do not think Tony’s musings paint a portrait of how things are – and I certainly do not think that you are a paid shill.
However, Tony’s point is a valid one: Given this administration’s fondness for paid propaganda, it is not too far fetched to think that they would pay off individual bloggers or even a blogger consortium.
Wondering aloud whether it could be a possibility is hardly an accusation, despite your apparent feeling otherwise.
Bob In Pacifica
John Cole, you are not a shill. You are misguided.
John Cole
Thank You, Bob.
John S.-
Armstrong Williams and all the endeavors Tony lists WERE paid shills, paid to toe the administration line. To compare us to the same thing is to call me a paid shill.
And let’s not look past the absurd assertion that ANYONE could get 100 bloggers to do anything in concert.
doinkman
It doesn’t have to be 100 bloggers all in on it.
Isn’t PJ media plans to promote certain posts to the main page? Who picks those posts? Charles Johnson, or Glenn or somebody else? The person(s) that have that task are who can shape the the views promoted.
BTW, Tony doesn’t read you. But I do and I read Tony. I bet you two have more of the same viewpoints than you would think (or want to believe).
John S.
John-
Listen. I do NOT think you are a paid shill. I think you are a very thoughtful person, regardless of when I disagree with you about something – as I do now. I guess the bottom line is that I could see Jeff G. responding to Tony the way he did (especially since he was one of several mentioned, but not in regards to shilling), but somehow I didn’t expect you to react at all.
I anticipated you to regard Tony’s ‘accuation’ as if he said that it is possible that there is green cheese on Venus.
And quite frankly, if Pajamas Media were being made to shill for the administration, I seriously doubt you would be in on it (as mention in doinkman’s post above).
In that unlikely scenario, you would be the ‘Serpico’ of the right-wing blogosphere.
Richard Bennett
So now nobody can comment on the Likudnik bent of any blogger or group of bloggers without being an anti-semite? That’s convenient.
Tony Pierce goes off the deep end in tying Open Pajamas Media to the White House, but somebody did put $3.5M into it, and they were probably not motivated by the hope of a financial return on the investment. OPM shows no evidence of being run like a business; even Huffy Puffy is a tighter ship with more compelling stories than OPM. So what the hell is it since it’s clearly not a business?
If it’s supposed to be a pro-Likud propaganda vehicle, it’s not doing too well on that front either. OPM is pretty much a sad little catastrophe, but I don’t blame anybody for taking their money. Somebody may as well profit by it, the investors certainly won’t.
OPM does owe Pierce a favor because before his post the entire world had forgotten about it already.
John S.
‘accuation’ = accusation
being made = being paid
I need Mavis Beacon…
Steve
I still don’t see at all where Tony “seized on the Jewish bit.” Link, please, John?
Bob In Pacifica
Some help here. I’m listening to “Cry Baby” by The Enchanters. Wasn’t there a version by Garnett Mimms?
You’re welcome, John.
srv
Scaife, Rev. Moon, Lord Black etc. have spent literally 100’s of Millions on right-wing think tanks, newspapers, FoxNews and what-not. It is absolutely ridiculous to think they’d be involved in any of this silly “new” media stuff. You’d have to be delusional! Or an anti-semite!
Steve S
Well it is a curious question. I’ve heard that Open Sores Media received $3 Million in funding from somewhere. Where? Who? Was it Richard Mellon-Scaife?
That doesn’t mean that you are a paid shill. It just means they dragged you along on their venture to give a bit of cover to their escapade.
Why does it matter to you so? Do you really know these Open Sores guys well enough to defend them?
Steve S
BTW, I just want to shout out some props to Ms. Rice.
Rice admits US mistakes in war on terror after wave of criticism across Europe
She did good by admitting to our mistakes. Trying to cover them up just asks for more trouble.
srv
I wonder how many traditional or new “media” sources don’t know who their paymasters are. Or better yet, apparently care to know…
Geek, Esq.
JC:
Some American bloggers ARE Likudniks when it comes to Israel.
Hell, Charles Johnson’s posters are Kahanists.
And trying to make Richard Silverstein out to be an anti-semite . . . well, let’s just say that this isn’t your best work.
Too bad, because Tony Pierce’s stupid post was a hanging curve over the plate.
Krista
I think you should go for that image anyway, John. Your coolness quotient would go up immeasurably. (It still wouldn’t make up for that “Daddy LIKE!” comment in the Plame thread, though…)
Jon H
“Armstrong Williams and all the endeavors Tony lists WERE paid shills, paid to toe the administration line. To compare us to the same thing is to call me a paid shill.”
It’s more like the situation with TechCentralStation. The site is run by a PR firm, so clearly there’s an intent to push the interests of their clientele, aka “the people who give them money”.
But they also run columns written without the best interests of TCS’s paymasters in mind. This helps provide cover for the columns which are PR pieces.
?
“JOOS” indeed, John.
If Pajamas Media fails, it won’t be because of Tony Pierce. Or Ann Althouse.
You’re not exactly covering yourself in glory when you counterattact. Why not take the high ground? I’ll just note how obviously self-defeating your ad hominems have been. But in addition, if you think Pierce is only out for attention, why give him any attention?
Just because noted internet ironist Jeff Goldstein is too thin -skinned to resist this kind of chuckleheadedness, you don’t have to back him up.
John Cole
IF PJ media fails, it won’t be because Jeff Goldstein is too thin-skinned, either.
Not that that makes Tony’s silly attacks any more respectable.
John S.
Serpiceo wouldn’t react to silly people.
John S.
*Serpico
jerry
As a Jew myself, I react with skepticism and disdain for ANY non-Jewish weblogger that prominently displays an Israeli flag on their website.
Almost always tehy are claiming credibility for their posts that they most likely do not deserve. Do I believe any of the powerline bloggers would lift up a gun for Israel? Not on my life.
In fact, all evidence that I can see is that a*holes like the powerline bloggers that feel free to twist the facts as they do would be the first to put the Jews in camps if the Administration blew that way.
Jeff Goldstein and you are trading on the “neocon” == jewish ==> antisemitism bullshit.
Shame on you.
Let me repeat. It is completely okay for a Jew to categorize others as likudnids or laborites. No, it is not okay for you to claim that you are a friend of Israel, or that the label neocon is antisemitic unless you are carrying an awesome amount of proof.
Don’t be an asshole Cole.
sonic
Having read the article you refer to and the comments the first person to bring up your religion was, er , you.
How long do you think you can just scream anti-semitism as a way to avoid any serious argument, and why are you not ashamed at taking a real issue and cheapening it as a way to get yourself out of trouble?
MRYuill
Pajamas?
Just two bad actors who need to do their time…………