Australian Libertarian Society

Catallaxy is currently experiencing a server problem…

… Which is why the site has been down all day, and why LP and Troppo are getting swarmed rather badly.

To our regulars and visitors, please bear with us, we are working on it!

October 17, 2006 Posted by skepticlawyer | General | 17 Comments

The rabbit punch routine

Once again Crikey has decided that Catallaxy is worthy of some added attention, in large part, I think, because I write there. I’m sure Jason doesn’t mind the free advertising – and nor does Thoughts on Freedom, which got some nice advertising courtesy of news.com.au (link below). That said, I am heartily sick of what GMB & JC call ‘the rabbit punch routine’, where people are attacked, well, because it’s cool to do the attacking. Not because of anything they may or may not have said. I made this comment in the relevant thread over at Catallaxy. I’ve put it here so everyone can see it as a main blog post.

I wondered why I couldn’t get onto Catallaxy this morning while I was waiting for the jury’s verdict. Yet another bit of Crikey dross explains it.

Disclosure
Unfortunately, some of this attention has come Catallaxy’s way since I’ve been one of its writers. Much as libertarians may find Mark Davis’ politics annoying, his analysis of the way the commentariat reacted to me in Gangland is pretty much on the money (see my Quadrant piece for details). Margaret Simons is a bit player in that commentariat, and people like me are clearly a threat. I’m not sure why, but I am.

These people simultaneously believe that blogs contain the collective (and meaningless) outpourings of Gen X/Gen Y, are no threat to the MSM, are never fact-checked, are populated by TEH EVIL GMB, and so on. Yet I start writing for Catallaxy and Thoughts on Freedom and that is news – more than Crikey, too – see this piece from news.com.au. I’d like to think these asshats can see that their days are numbered, but I suspect they don’t want to see that far.

It’s worth pointing out that Simons wrote a major piece for the Australian during the controversy over me winning the Miles Franklin. This piece – among ather things – made comments on my physical appearance and depended entirely for its cachet on gossip. Like Weathergirl, Simons claimed to have spoken to all sorts of shadowy – and not so shadowy – people in my past. Funnily enough, when I spoke to some of these people later, they claimed either (a) that they’d been misquoted or (b) that no-one by the name of Margaret Simons had ever approached them. The piece ran in late 1995 or early 1996. If people with access poke around on Factiva, they should be able to track it down.

Simons has significant appearance issues of her own – which I will not detail here – that do help to explain some of her obsessions. And it is characteristic of the left (and even the non-political commentariat) to ‘pile on’ (Les Murray uses this phrase, too, GMB) when someone doesn’t fit the cookie-cutter model. Murray also makes the point that women are generally treated very badly – he has written some excellent stuff on this issue, excerpted here. This is actually a chapter-length excerpt from his biography, and details his views on exactly the issues Jason has flagged above. I highly recommend it if you’ve got some spare time.

For my part, I don’t ‘represent women’, and I don’t mind the sometimes rather masculine interactions on Catallaxy. Just as men stand to learn from how women manage interpersonal relations, I believe women also can learn from men on that score. I’m quite sure that if GMB or JC disagreed with me, I’d know about it. Instantly. And I’d probably get called a bunch of stuff. To which my response would probably be ‘phooey’.

The commentariat, by contrast, goes behind my back, writing sneaky, smearing articles about both me and co-bloggers in forums where no-one from Catallaxy is granted a right of reply. To be quite frank, I prefer the ‘blokey’ in your face model, rather than the ‘girly’ stab in the back model. I always feel much happier when I know where I stand.

There, that’s said it. Frankly, a large number of people in the commentariat need to get over themselves and get a life. I don’t think Crikey is leftist, by the way (although the two recent attacks on Catallaxy were both from leftists). Rather, I think it is symbolic of a broader problem in Australia’s commentariat – the substitution of personal attacks and smears for engagement with peoples’ actual views. The staff writers at Catallaxy and Thoughts on Freedom – to a man and woman – write thoughtful, reasoned copy. People in the comments sometimes don’t. This is the way the blogosphere works, folks. Get used to it.

October 7, 2006 Posted by skepticlawyer | General | Comments Off

Apologies from skepticlawyer for lazy blogging

I’ve only just noticed that people are still commenting on my Quadrant piece. I have no excuse for failing to notice apart from a tendency to only check recent blogposts.

Obviously, the link is all over the internet so of course people are still interested in stopping by and offering their thoughts. My apologies, then, to those people who dropped in and offered a comment expecting a response from me. I have now replied to your questions to the best of my ability.

…And I would really like to learn how to enable a ‘recent comments’ feature, like we have at Catallaxy…

Sukrit, is this even possible?

September 29, 2006 Posted by skepticlawyer | General | 3 Comments

The Oz Politics Blog

Bryan has included Thoughts on Freedom – along with a tasty selection of other blogs – in his Oz Politics Blog feed. The full list is here, so you’re encouraged to pay him a visit and check out the newcomers. Highlights among the additions include Andrew Norton and The Raving Wingnut, although there is plenty of bloggy goodness besides.

September 24, 2006 Posted by skepticlawyer | General | 5 Comments

Husky puppies

As promised, some husky pics. First up is a picture of the illustrious dad himself, looking like King Muck on the bed. This is a dog who genuinely thinks he’s Christmas.

Next, some puppy pics. Texas threw 7 puppies; They’re nearly 5 weeks old, and the two show specimens have already been sold. The others (non-show) are still up for grabs, and come wormed, vaccinated and socialized.

You’ll need to wait, though, as reputable husky breeders prefer to keep their puppies for 10 weeks so they’re properly ready for their new home. The puppies come in a range of colours, consistent with both sire and dam colours. There are darker pups with ‘masks’, and lighter pups with tan highlights. All have blue eyes.

The first puppy pic shows two of the darker pups. The second pic shows two of the lighter pups contrasted with one mid-tone puppy.

If you’ve decided a husky is for you, then I highly recommend some research into the breed. These dogs like exercise, and if you’re determined to stick to that new diet and exercise regime, one of these pups could be for you. If, however, you just want a pretty dog and you’re not willing to exercise it, then expect to find holes in your backyard galore and one very stroppy animal. Huskies need to RUN.

Still interested? Contact rdiplock AT hotmail DOT com. Non show puppies are $400.00 each.

September 15, 2006 Posted by skepticlawyer | General | 21 Comments