Wild, Wild Wonkette
If you're into DC-based media and political gossip (and who isn't, except for Newt Gingrich's first two wives?), point your browser to the recently unveiled Wonkette, the latest triumph from the people who have already brought us the great Gawker and the fabulous Fleshbot (note to Gawker impresario Nick Denton: Please don't create a DC-based Fleshbot, at least until Sen. Robert Byrd dies.)
Wonkette is edited by Ana Marie Cox, whose achievements to date include helping to run legendary dot-coms Suck, Feed, and Inside into bankruptcy and "being fired by a political magazine that [she] cannot, under legal penalty, name in public." Though I can: It was the The American Prospect, which also apparently pulled the trigger on Reason Contributing Editor Matt Welch's proposed media column for the simple offense of writing for one of "The 50 Best Magazines").
Which is to say, Cox is exactly the person you want running a DC-based media and political gossip site. She's a pre-menopausal Lucianne Goldberg at the top of her game (sans cigarette holder and with a different set of politics, to be sure).
So check it out. A recent sample from a glossary of characters:
? Broder, David: Old guy people say is the dean of something or other. We think it's the vocational advising division of St. Alban's. [Wash Post]
? Brooks, David: New York Times columnist. Favorite colors are red and blue. Conservative, but happy to give Democrats his excellent advice. Scared of women. [NYTimes.com]
…? Cheney, Dick: Emerges from his hole every February 2. If he sees his shadow, it's six more weeks until we invade Syria. [WhiteHouse.gov]
? Clark, Wesley: Superhuman robot who will destroy us all with his laser vision eyes. Running for president. [Clark04.com]
? Clark, Wes, Jr.: Created from DNA harvested from the real Wesley Clark. Super hot. [NY Observer]
…? Dean, Howard: Running for president. Maintains a website at www.angrydwarf.com. Kills kittens for fun. [DeanforAmerica.com]
? Dowd, Maureen: New York Times columnist who thinks she's been elected prom queen. Sees a lot of movies and skims a lot of political bios. Rarely keeps them straight. [NYTimes.com]
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She gets the economy wrong where Bush got it right. That ruins the effect she seeks, which is a failing for a writer. It's akin to tone-deafness. Alas! you can't write just anything.
>PRESIDENT: Let me explain how the economy works. When you spend money to buy food it helps this lady's business. It makes it more likely somebody is going to find work. So instead of asking questions, answer mine: are you going to buy some food?
>Yes, everyone, it's very funny that the President is such a rib-focused guy. But we all knew he was a man with a laser-like ability to focus on a single issue for seconds at a time; it's a pleasant surprise to find he can do so for the length of an entire conversation. In any case, what's really worrisome about the "Remarks by the President to the Press Pool" (I have about 165 copies, thanks everyone.) isn't the ribs thing: It's that the world's largest economy is in the hands of someone whose grasp of financial theory can essentially be reduced to "I have two apples. If I take one apple and give it to you. . ."
>We kid. Of course he doesn't think that way! Why should the government give away apples to people who don't work? Fucking apple queens.
The reason you want an economy is not to keep people away from their TVs but because it's made of voluntary transactions. What is the thing about voluntary transactions? Each side comes out ahead or there would not be a trade. The more free transactions there are, the higher the standard of living, and it's all made up of disagreements about value! A paradox. Disagreement brings happiness.
So it's not giving stuff away after all.
What she lacks most of all is a comments link so assholes like me can explain things. Moreover it supplies material. It's not so bad making mistakes if you let everybody have a chance.
I assume the President was urging the press to buy something they want. He didn't demand that they buy ribs.
I have to say, that ribs transcript is the first thing in a couple of years to make me almost like the president.
She also ran the Antic Muse, which was pretty funny.
Gosh it must be difficult to be so darn CUTE!!! all the time. Perhaps she should take a break every once in a while and bring in someone who has something worthwhile to say.
Of course, my comments would be different if I were part of the endlessly cross-promoting Blogger Elite.
Where do they find the time...
Ah, a Reason-staffer-slash-Suck-alum logrolling for a fellow Suck alum's projects. Again.
I have just one word to say:
Main Entry: va?pid
Pronunciation: 'va-p&d, 'vA-
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin vapidus flat-tasting; akin to Latin vappa vapid wine and perhaps to Latin vapor steam
: lacking liveliness, tang, briskness, or force : FLAT, DULL
synonym see INSIPID
- va?pid?ly adverb
- va?pid?ness noun
Perhaps she should take a break every once in a while and bring in someone who has something worthwhile to say.
The glossary's pretty worthwhile. 🙂
I adore Ann O'Tate as much as the next ex-Suckster, but have to agree that Nick owed his readers a full disclosure clause on this one.
Her illustration is deeply irritating
christ, she's funny as hell... and she can write.
I am sure she's super smart and funny. But what she writes is pretentiously useless. The total dotcom shit based on Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V.