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February 11, 2007 [LINK / comment]
On the credibility of bloggers
Recent controversies in Virginia politics (see HERE and HERE) have brought into sharp relief the question of bloggers and their credibility, which varies considerably. Here are the criteria that I go by when assessing new blogs that I come across, in rough order of importance:
- Open identity (not anonymous)
- Educational background, knowledge of facts
- Logical consistency
- Proper citation of sources (hyperlinks, etc.)
- Reasonable tone, proper spelling
- Acknowledgement of ideology and biases
- Willingness to admit mistakes
- Length of time blogging
As for the first criterion, I have always felt that if a person is afraid to put their own name by what they write, their opinions don't count for much. Now, if a highly reputable blogger cites someone who is anonymous, I will pay attention, figuring he or she must know the other blogger's identity. That calls attention to the unsavory nature of the blogosphere as a vast hierarchy of social cliques, each of which whispers insider secrets to each other. I detest such things. Some bloggers have come partly "out of the closet," but are for whatever reason still a little shy. Obviously, I've been completely open about who I am and what I stand for from the very beginning -- which was almost five years ago. Now that's "incredible"!
I attach the highest value to the opinions of Donald Sensing, Andrew Sullivan, Victor Davis Hanson, Daniel Drezner, and Glenn Reynolds, in that order, more or less. All are conservative, and most of them are scholars or experts in military affairs and/or national security. Glenn is so busy linking to so many items every day that he doesn't spend much time expressing his own opinions much anymore. He is less of a fan of Andrew Sullivan than he used to be, feeling (as I did for a while) that Sullivan was overhyping the Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo torture issues. Having just finished Sullivan's fine book, The Conservative Soul: How We Lost It, How To Get It Back, I am more impressed with his intellectual honesty than ever. Stay tuned for a book review...
Posted (or last updated or commented upon): 12 Feb 2007, 12: 28 AM
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Category archives:
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This (or that) year's
blog highlights
January 4, 2007 ~ 110th Congress: open for business
January 24, 2007 ~ The State of the Union, 2007
March 28, 2007 ~ Mark Steyn's America Alone
April 19, 2007 ~ Senator Hanger comes to Staunton
April 30, 2007 ~
Sen. Hanger's campaign kick-off
June 1, 2007 ~
Stars shine for Senator Hanger
June 12, 2007 ~
Republicans In Name Only? You be the judge!
June 13, 2007 ~
How sweet: Reason prevails
June 24, 2007 ~
SWAC bloggers air dirty laundry
August 13, 2007 ~ Hasta la vista, Karl Rove
August 21, 2007 ~
Fading dreams of democracy
August 6, 2007 ~
Nats sweep World Champion Cards!
September 23, 2007 ~ Au revoir, RFK Stadium
October 18, 2007 ~ Nationals 2007: Year in review
October 25, 2007 ~
Augusta County Campaign 2007
October 29, 2007 ~ Red Sox sweep Rockies; Dynasty?
November 7, 2007 ~ Democrats win Virginia Senate
December 14, 2007 ~ The Mitchell Report is released
December 29, 2007 ~
The death of Benazir Bhutto
December 31, 2007 ~ Baseball 2007: Year in Review
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Blog highlights have been compiled for the years 2010-2012 thus far, and eventually will be compiled for earlier years, back to 2002.
Explanation
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