Patterico's Pontifications

6/30/2010

iowahawk Looks to Earn $100,000

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:32 am



From Andrew Breitbart, who is offering $100,000 for the JournoList archives.

iowahawk has the next best thing:

JOSH MARSHALL: hey matt ask your mom if she can drop us off at the mall AMC at 7

MATTHEW YGLESIAS: ok

MATTHEW YGLESIAS: i just hope we dont run into olbermann

EZRA KLEIN: eeewww

JOSH MARSHALL: ewww

ERIC BOEHLERT: eeeewww

EZRA KLEIN: FIRST!

MATTHEW YGLESIAS: that guy is kinda creepy

EZRA KLEIN: ya,, isnt he kinda old to be hanging around chat rooms and mall theaters

ERIC BOEHLERT: did he ever offer u a ride in his van?

JOSH MARSHALL: ya, like yesterday

EZRA KLEIN: im thinking about growing my hair out like justin bieber

MATTHEW YGLESIAS: omg u totally should it would look so cute on u

ERIC BOEHLERT: ita,,, justin rox

EZRA KLEIN: thats what i thought but it idk how he gets bangs to lay flat like that

By the way, regarding Andrew’s offer, Glenn Reynolds says:

If you’re worried about your own stuff being released, you don’t really safeguard it by not selling out to Breitbart — you just ensure that if one of the 400 other members does, you won’t get the $100K.

Prisoner’s Dilemma!

That’s the second of three insightful thoughts he has.

25 Responses to “iowahawk Looks to Earn $100,000”

  1. There are so many scary things about the Iowahawk post. First, how he caught the teenager listserve style so accurately. But more importantly, there is more accuracy in that parody than the Journolist people would like to admit, I’m pretty sure.

    I don’t understand why Klein just doesn’t hand it over to Breitbart and donate the money to MoveOn. I mean, since so many pundits are saying it is no big deal…

    Eric Blair (02a138)

  2. Eric, I think you do understand why Klein can’t hand it over.

    The secrets on Journolist are worth more than $100,000 to him. Way more. And given how much wealth a democrat congress and administration go through, trillions, I suspect the MSM complicity in coverage is worth so much more that it’s laughable.

    Anyone who gives Breitbart the listserve had better be really good at hiding money.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  3. Actually, Dustin, I do think that the listserve will show a type of conspiracy to “shape” Teh Narrative in the MSM.

    But I don’t think that it will upset many people outside the Right. There will be much shoulder shrugging, and if pressed, the usual Leftist response of “…it doesn’t do any harm, and besides, the Right does (fill in the blank) worse.”

    What it will do, and this is why Iowahawk’s post is so funny, is make these “journalists” look just plain silly and trivial.

    Which they are.

    Eric Blair (02a138)

  4. That man’s a comedic genius. An amusing remembrance I have is of a smirking Eric Alterman slouching like an insolent teenager in the guest chair while being interviewed by Dennis Miller (on his old CNBC show). Miller finally lost all patience, looked at his producers and as much as said get this douchebag outta here!

    There’s just something about lefties…

    GeneralMalaise (9cf017)

  5. The proactiv blast made me laugh the hardest.

    Bradnsa (980254)

  6. Iowahawk is simply brilliant.

    JD (959071)

  7. The Proactiv comment was a low blow, if funny. But you know what? Weigel has said some pretty snarky things about other people. So….

    Eric Blair (02a138)

  8. Here’s what we know: Andrew Brietbart is a master chess player who can see 10-15 moves ahead.

    Here’s what I think: Brietbart ALREADY HAS the JournoList archive, or at least a sizeable piece of it. He makes the not so subtle implication-if-downright-accusation that the JournoList denzians conspired to play up the ObamaCare “N-word” smearing but downplayed the exculpatory proof that showed no such thing. Given his track record, why would Brietbart make that claim if he doesn’t have the archives? If he does have them (as I believe), he’s just given us the first preview.

    So why is he offering the $100K? Two reasons.
    A) for verification that what he has is the real deal.
    B) if a JournoList member tries to take advantage of the deal with a less-than-full archive, Brietbart can expose them for trying to whitewash the missing parts.

    SaveFarris (ed4c59)

  9. For the record, Chris Hooten is an imbecile. That is all.

    JD (959071)

  10. i don’t know if brietbart is a chess player or not. sometimes i think he is sort of like a righteous version of the joker character, as depicted in the Dark Knight. There’s a scene, which may or may not be revealing of the joker’s mentality, where he says to two face that everyone has a plan, but he, he just does things. “I’m like a dog chasing a car. i wouldn’t know what to do if i caught it.” Sometimes i suspect Brietbart is just a merry injector of chaos, only without the murder and all that.

    But then again, sometimes it comes together so well you have to suspect careful planning. And other times, you can’t see how it possibly could be planned, even when it comes off so perfectlyl that normally you would assume it is planned.

    That being said, i wonder several things.

    First, wouldn’t you have to back up the archive before klien shut it down? And if that is the case, well, how many people would have done that?

    Second, how does he know if it is genuine? one or more of the theories above offers a potential answer.

    Third, what if a person can only give him a partial copy, and says, “hey, this is all i got”?

    Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (e7d72e)

  11. I’d post my comment at Iowahawk’s if he’d allow them, but here will have to do.

    That is one of the sharpest, funniest things he’s come up with. His dissection of Journolist’s members is both surgical and hysterical.

    If there is anyone in America today who could be considered the heir to Will Roger’s legacy, it’s Dave Burge.

    Tex Lovera (30e140)

  12. OT – But we seem to be getting spam on old posts. Different names but each has an odd little emoticon at the end and a commercial(?) link in the name. “Caleb Green” and “Emma Johnson” are the two latest but there were at least two others today.

    [Thanks, and you’re right. The old and tired guy (me) took a nap, but it’s all better now. That’s typically what gets by the spam filter during a day. I just usually zap them before anyone can see them. –Stashiu]

    Have Blue (854a6e)

  13. Iowahawk is a treasure. A beer swilling, motorheaded treasure. Thank God for him.

    I lol’ed when I read it this morning. The Bieber hair thing KILLED.

    Vivian Louise (eeeb3a)

  14. My daughter is way mad at me because I will not allow her to put up a Bieber poster in her room.

    JD (5ff464)

  15. Unfortunately, there are NOT 400 people who can take up the $100K offer, and of those most likely to be interested few are able.

    Most mail lists have two sorts subscribing: the active members, and the inactive ones who post only occasionally if at all. Few members keep all posts; most delete them after reading.

    The ones most likely to have kept the entire archive are those who are most involved. However, they also have contributed large parts of the record, so they would be least inclined to sell to Breitbart. It’s not like they can purge their content and get away with it — the absence would be noted.

    So, I expect this to amount to nothing. Unfortunately.

    Kevin Murphy (805c5b)

  16. To paraphrase Treacher…

    I totally love Iowahawk.

    In a GAY way.

    Dave Surls (593f85)

  17. “most delete them after reading.”

    I am surprised to read this. I have every email I’ve ever sent or received since I joined gmail.

    Maybe I just don’t grok the nature of this listserve, though.

    Regardless, Breitbart’s offer get the point across that some people have a tremendous stake in hiding something fundamental about media manipulation.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  18. “MATTHEW YGLESIAS: i just hope we dont run into olbermann”

    Yeah, there’s a lot of that going around.

    And, I think most people feel that way.

    Except Caterpillar drivers, of course.

    Dave Surls (593f85)

  19. I think laughing about this is the wrong approach. The leftwingers in the media (if that’s not a redundant phrase) were colluding in private as to how best to sell the Democrats policies and refute the GOP. That SHOULD be a big story and a big scandal, not the occasion for a few chuckles.

    What it will do, and this is why Iowahawk’s post is so funny, is make these “journalists” look just plain silly and trivial.

    These “silly and trivial” people are the media who got Obama in the WH and the Democrats in control of Congress. I wish we had such “silly and trivial” people on our side.

    Subotai (8e1f13)

  20. I agree with Subotai.

    I think iowahawk’s satire is hilarious, but it should be seen as satire of a very serious problem.

    I think if we saw the full archives it would be revealing. Perhaps the story wouldn’t sink in to many voters, but it’s a huge problem and it’s the reason we have the horrible problem of a president who has no idea how to do his job.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  21. Subutai

    Mmm, i believe in mocking most things, including really horrible things. I admit it is off putting but its an emotional survival technique. Its a jewish cultural thing i picked up from friends growing up. I guess they know something about coping with bad stuff.

    But i get your point. it is serious and outrageous. here is hoping brietbart gets the real thing.

    Aaron Worthing (A.W.) (e7d72e)

  22. The question Andrew needs to be seeking the answer to is: what organization hosted the listserv, and who was responsible for backing up the server in question. The backups should have the complete archive. The controlling party may not even have been party to the list itself.

    Dan S (b5ccb6)

  23. “I think laughing about this is the wrong approach.”

    The game of life always ends in tragedy.

    Might as well enjoy it before the last out comes.

    Dave Surls (593f85)

  24. Keep in mind, folks, how the Left will handle this situation, even if some terrible things are found on Journolist:

    1. Why are conservatives so sensitive? Toughen up!
    2. The media is actually slanted toward the Right (paging that creepy Mr. Boehlert).
    3. This is no big deal and has gone on forever; stop the whining..
    4. Except that Republicans are worse.
    5. It’s possible to be Left and be fair to the Right.
    6. And Republicans commentators are just as bad to the Left.
    7. In fact, they are worse.
    8. Look! Bunnies!

    That will be Teh Narrative on this. Still, laughing at these people is the best approach. If we are serious, they will win in our current “irony obsessed” culture. We need to laugh at them, and call them hypocrites while laughing. Remove the gravitas as journalists they want to be seen as having, which will make them say eve more hypocritical and silly things. Then we pile on more.

    Like Weigel. BigJournalism has an article with lots of great quotes where he says really nasty things about Leftists, when he was more on the Right. So…Weigel is just a chameleon like jerk, looking for attention and a paycheck. Seriously, check out some Weigel quotes about Krugman and Dowd:

    http://bigjournalism.com/mrichmond/2010/06/28/i-like-the-dave-weigel-who-insulted-liberal-pundits-a-lot-better/

    Which is why he merits laughter and scorn.

    That is not to say that this issue isn’t serious; it is. It is to say that making fun of these people will help fairness more than acting all serious and “square” about it. Because of the current narrative.

    Eric Blair (c8876d)

  25. “…he says really nasty things about Leftists”

    The only redeeming feature leftists have is that they’ll knife each other in the back in a heartbeat.

    Stalin and Trotsky.

    Hitler and Roehm.

    Obambi and Wright.

    The list is endless.

    Dave Surls (593f85)


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