Patterico's Pontifications

2/17/2017

Happy Blogiversary to Me

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 12:01 am



I think I have forgotten about this the last couple of years, but I’m observing it this year. This blog began 14 years ago today, on February 17, 2003. I was thirty-four years old. Today I’m . . . older. My daughter, now 17, had recently had her third birthday. My son, now 14, was barely four months old.

Five years ago I made the following request on the nine-year blogiversary, and I would like to repeat it today, since the composition of the readership has changed:

On this blogiversary, I would ask the long-time readers how long they have been reading here. Tell me in comments. The longest-standing reader gets a cookie.

It will be a virtual cookie, to be sure, as we live in a virtual world. But if I meet you in person I’ll buy you a real one. Or maybe a real beer.

Thanks for reading.

As I said in my Fault Lines interview:

Blogging has brought both good and bad. I would say that, despite the SWATting and lawsuits and other nuisances, it’s mostly been a good thing, on balance. It’s brought me into contact with many, many people I never would have met otherwise — and many of those people are important in my life. In the end, it’s part of who I am. It’s hard to imagine myself without it.

I think I’ve said this before, but I went to a retirement party for AZ Bob not that long ago, and he was telling me what a funny and idiosyncratic crew of commenters I have. Rekindling The Jury Talks Back as a forum for civil discussion has reminded me that there are also many lurkers out there, including plenty who are quite regular readers. I appreciate all of you.

OK, most of you.

96 Responses to “Happy Blogiversary to Me”

  1. Ding!

    I think I was reading you and commenting occasionally around the 2004 election. Rathergate, etc was sort of the golden age of conservative bloggery. But then I took a long hiatus (not sure why) and only returned in the last month or so.

    Thanks for remaining a voice of reason and staying true to your principles for all these years.

    Dave (711345)

  2. Back in March 2005, less than a month into my own blog, I noted your impassioned defense of bloggers against FEC regulation: here.

    Unfortunately, the links I used there don’t work here anymore.

    Also, the links were “via Instapundit”, so if Glenn chooses to play this game, he’s got me beat.

    In any case, thanks for the good work. Keep it up.

    Paul A Sand (9f4c0c)

  3. Patterico’s Pontifications » Norman Hsu Captured
    patterico.com/2007/09/06/norman-hsu-captured/
    Sep 6, 2007 – Maybe he was injured from the butt whoopin he caught, asking for a refund on his bail from Hillary. papertiger (1afea2) — 9/6/2007 @ 10:49 pm.

    Always been foul mouthed. Apologies.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  4. Happy anniversary. Thanks for all the thought provoking reading.

    gbear (70736b)

  5. I’ve been reading your blog since 2008. You deserve all the praise that can be heaped upon today for standing guard over liberty.

    CONGRATULATIONS on your 14th blogiversary. You do not toil in vain, sir!

    Political Clown Parade (ebaf8a)

  6. Congrats.
    May I suggest bringing back sock puppet friday?

    mg (31009b)

  7. I’ve been a regular reader since maybe mid 2003. I had recently moved from SoCal to Nor Cal and enjoyed many of your posts about the LA Times.Congrats on your longevity.

    JohnABeerman (70d71f)

  8. I’ve been reading here for at least six months. Nice little blog!

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  9. i like your blog a lot

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  10. Happy blogoversary! The Terri Schiavo case brought me here in 2005, I stayed for the Roberts confirmation, and after that I was a habitual commenter.

    nk (dbc370)

  11. Only since the Anthony Weiner case in 2011, and not at the very beginning of it, but in June.

    Sammy Finkelman (8dcc71)

  12. So you started blogging four years to the date before I got married. Kudos. I think I started reading roughly 2006-2007, though I have rarely commented.

    Paul Zummo (2c79a5)

  13. Happy anniversary, Pat. Mostly lurking these days (no time to post after I read all the great comments) but I read quite faithfully. This is a terrific blog; much appreciate all the work you (and the guest bloggers!) do keeping it up. I think I’m a newer reader even though here for years; you have a faithful readership!

    PS I second mg’s request for sock puppet Fridays – that was so much fun!

    Suggestion: put it up on The Jury Talks Back so that all the fun of sockpuppeting stupid famous people will be there while keeping all the interpersonal civility which sometimes got forgotten in all the funny stuff.

    no one of consequence (325a59)

  14. I’m one of those lurkers you refer to (although this past election brought me out of my shell to post a couple of times). I was aware of your presence in the blogosphere before I became a regular reader. I think it was during Weinergate that I started checking your blog pretty much daily.

    Happy Blogiversary! I hope you continue to find ways to keep blogging and keep your sanity. I would be sad if you burned out any time soon. You have been one of my top two favorite bloggers for a while now, and 2016 saw my other favorite become a bit unhinged, IMO. He still regularly goes on rants against NeverTrumpers (which is a bit ironic, since at one point during the primary season he even claimed to be one of them).

    JJ (32dd4e)

  15. Congrats! I’ve been reading since near the beginning. Not sure when I started, but it’s been a long time. The only blog I’ve read longer is QandO. You offer thoughtful analysis on a wide range of topics.

    Chuck Bartowski (211c17)

  16. Ya got a pretty good blog goin’ here pal, but I”m still waitin’ (patiently) for you to get your head right about The Donald. How about you cut the guy a little slack? He really ain’t so bad, especially when you consider the alternative.

    ropelight (43ba4d)

  17. Started reading your blog a decade ago while still a LADA like you. Prosecutors love to say they are for limited government while enforcing the dictates of big government. Perhaps you should judge your own conduct by the same standards you hold Trump to.

    Unattorney (9e7d78)

  18. Mr. Trump’s all about changing hearts and minds

    hearts and minds baby

    and it will be so good

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  19. Happy blogiversary. I remember the good old days of holding Jamie Gold’s feet to the fire. Keep up the good work.

    Regret (5da42f)

  20. Nice blog you have. Be a shame if anything happened to it. Like an infestation of Trump Idolators. Mostly dirtbags following a dirtbag. Wouldn’t want that for your blogsite.

    I don’t remember when I first found Pat’s Ponts, so I have to guess around 2007ish.

    John Hitchcock (50b18f)

  21. And perhaps Unattorney would like to practice ethically instead of how he practices.

    John Hitchcock (50b18f)

  22. Happy blogiversary, been a very recent visitor since about late 2015 or so. I dont trust myself to behave at Jury so I’ll settle for the welcome on the original.

    urbanleftbehind (5eecdb)

  23. Not sure how long but at least ten years.

    Well done and thanks for the hard work, despite those thinking people with opposing views are infestations.

    harkin (afc7a6)

  24. I started reading and commenting when I started undergraduate school in 2006. I was a teenager then, and a jackass. I’ve endeavored (sometimes unsuccessfully) to be less of a jackass over the past decade. This blog has been formative for me in a lot of ways, and I owe a big thank you to Patterico, DRJ, Dana, and a number of other folks for that. So, thank you. Here’s to the next 14 years.

    Leviticus (efada1)

  25. I believe it was in 2006-7. Mark Steyn mentioned your blog in a column so I checked it out. I stayed, and read mostly everyday. Salud

    Angelo (c916c9)

  26. Only person who has shown evidence, yours truly.

    Just sayin.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  27. I’m angling for the cookie.

    You have to risk it for the biscuit.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  28. I know I was reading the blog in the summer of 2006 when you were working with Jeff Goldstein on the Oregon Nutter Case. I’m pretty sure I was reading prior to that but I clearly remember that episode.

    Happy Anniversary.

    Rick Ballard (5e8a41)

  29. Happy Blogiversary.

    Been a decade or so. I forget how I first came here. Probably something to do with either Ace or Malkin. Or strangely enough, a google search.

    NJRob (43d957)

  30. Greetings:

    Somehow, 14 years old explains a lot.

    11B40 (6abb5c)

  31. What a great subject.

    Not sure exactly where I came on board, but my recollection is that it had to do with Rathergate, and Charles Johnson’s Littlegreenfootballs blog which was out in front at the beginning in deconstructing the argument that the Bush National Guard docs were legit based on an analysis of the fonts, and the fact that they were likely produced with word processing software not available in the late 60s when military documents were still being typed rather than input into computers.

    I don’t think I ended up here directly from Johnson’s blog, but my recollection is that in searching around the net for info I discovered this place.

    I stuck around pretty consistently for a long time, but drifted away for quite a while during the Obama years.

    Have been back now for about 6 months.

    shipwreckedcrew (56b591)

  32. OK – I went looking for evidence to see if I had my actual start date. Patrick himself looked it up and gave my start date as 2003: “Very cool to have a reader who was reading in 2003! You join my mom, my dad (now departed), and 2-3 other people in that distinction.”

    Regret (5da42f)

  33. I’ve been reading since around February 2004, back when my last name was still Hoberg (in 2007 I married a Ryall, so… Ryberg). I used to “blog” (read: rant, online) and we exchanged links for a while. Still appreciating your principled perspective. Happy blogiversary, Patterico.

    Tom Ryberg aka Tom Hoberg (2c5752)

  34. Started reading your blog a decade ago while still a LADA like you. Prosecutors love to say they are for limited government while enforcing the dictates of big government. Perhaps you should judge your own conduct by the same standards you hold Trump to.

    Unattorney

    You know I think he does. It’s not like he’s prosecuting kids for setting up unlicensed lemonade stands. He’s prosecuting people who helped kill people. I know he rarely talks about his job but give me a break if you think the crimes he deals with in his day job are controversial.

    and he raised an interesting point yesterday. This is a great blog because it’s not his day job. He’s stayed true because if this blog fails, his family still eats. He’s not beholden to fashion or the party the way other bloggers are (cough aceofspades).

    What exactly has anyone here ever criticized Trump for, in his life, that you think we are doing in our lives? Groping women? Exploiting eminent domain? Dodging the draft? Slurring POWs? Funding Hillary’s foundation?

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  35. Regret, that’s awesome. I think Beldar is probably in that category but very few are even close.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  36. Sounds like here say evidence to me, regret.

    / 😉

    papertiger (c8116c)

  37. I’m not sure that I know when I started reading Patterico. Probably sometime in 2003 but I’m guessing to be honest. I attempted to Google an early comment of mine but their search command to restrict domains seems wonky.

    SPQR (a3a747)

  38. It’s all good. We have biscuits in the fridge.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  39. Pretty sure I was reading here almost from the outset. Sometime in 2003. I see a comment in December 2003 of mine, and I know I was reading during the Spysweeper discussion in November.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  40. I have read this since about June 27, 2011. I ran across this when a Google search about Anthony Weiner turned up this blog. The Anthony weiner discussion had been going on for some time by then, moving from one post to another.

    Before that, I most frequently read and posted on the Volokh Conspiracy (where you couild edit comments for 5 minutes after you left them) and before that, Powerline Blog, besides others, like Seraphic Secret (since 2006?) and other kinds of blogs.

    Sammy Finkelman (6f9f42)

  41. I was thinking the first time I’d commented was during the San Francisco zoo tiger attack, but apparently Norman Hsu got my dander up first.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  42. I think you enabled comments in November 2003, so it’s hard to prove anything before that point. OF the blogs I was reading then, only two survive (Instapundit being the other one). Of those two, this one has been more consistent.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  43. I see a comment by John Scalzi, 12/14/2003, in which he comes off like a warblogger.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  44. Congrats!

    CeeKay (c320b0)

  45. IIRC, sometime around 2003 I was booted from DKos for arguing with Brad Delong there (Marcos told me I was too passionate). I asked Jay Caruso which other blogs around had good discussion in the comments – he pointed to Trevino, here, Balloon Juice and LGF. Tevino’s site morphed into the Forvm and hard left when he left, then Balloon Juice and LGF went insane as well.

    From here I followed Beldar, but he stopped.

    Red State never captured me (too much an echo chamber – I like to argue).

    NRO captured me on The Corner, before they fell apart this past year.

    Now I lurk here, Instapundit and PJM, with daily visits to Ace.

    Steven Malynn (d29fc3)

  46. The earliest comment of mine I find is 12/14/2003 on the same article as Scalzi commented, regarding what to do with Saddam:

    Well shooting him and hanging the body by the feet is one tradition. Or maybe giving him to the survivors of some Kurd massacre.

    The plastic box idea is OK, but I’d go for the best of Polka, 24/7, or maybe we could have a national contest to pick the most grating audio pieces of all time.

    But all in all, I’ll go for a simple public hanging. Half-hanging, drawing and quartering would also be good, but maybe too medieval.
    Kevin M (6a7945) — 12/14/2003 @ 5:48 pm

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  47. Perhaps four years, but your blog is an everyday ritual must for me, your analysis of things, especially legal, cannot be had elsewhwere, not for non lawyers like my engineering self. keep it up-!

    Neocon_1 (4d97ca)

  48. Although Patterico was linking to my old blog earlier than that.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  49. My recollection is that I found your blog by Googling for sources who were making strong criticisms of the Los Angeles Times, and I found one of your early Dog Trainer Year in Review posts. I think it was around 2005, if memory serves.

    JVW (6e49ce)

  50. I guess I have been around for about ten years now. I used to comment under the name BT, but gave that up about 7 years ago. My guess is that I found you via Instapundit. Anyway, I enjoy the blog and am a somewhat infrequent commenter and full time lurker. I miss some of the old guys like daleyrocks and JD. I know that JD got divorced and that right after that he pulled back. I hope he is doing well. Patterico, thanks for all of your hard work to keep this going.

    Ipso Fatso (7e1c8e)

  51. the best thing about blogiversary is we get monday off

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  52. 36.I’m not sure that I know when I started reading Patterico. Probably sometime in 2003 but I’m guessing to be honest. I attempted to Google an early comment of mine but their search command to restrict domains

    Just the word patterico will work pretty well, and on most computers you can do acustom date search.

    But your name may show up in a post dated earlier than you first made a comment if your name was in the Recent Comments area at the time when Google scanned it – and they do this again and again.

    You can tell though because the fact it came from Recent Comments will be apparent in the sample Google shows. You’ll see something like “SPQR on ALL HAIL THE KING!”

    I searched for anything from you and your computer (it wasn’t posted them, but the code for the computer is there now) and the earliest a commnt from you from the source coded 26be8b was on December 12, 2007 at:

    https://patterico.com/2007/12/06/another-misleading-attack-on-the-felony-murder-rule/

    Comment 50 (there are a few more)

    50. Phil, to be an accessory to a crime does not require that the act one does is itself, in isolation separate from all the other circumstances, a crime.

    SPQR (26be8b) — 12/7/2007 @ 8:24 pm

    Sammy Finkelman (6f9f42)

  53. Followed you here from ‘Oh, that liberal media’ using screen name “Blackjack.” Which I had to abandon because my comments started getting relegated to the spam filter as black porn.

    Not sure when I first commented, but it was early on. Be nice to know who has seniority.

    ropelight (43ba4d)

  54. Sammy, the commenter hash was introduced long after I first started here.

    SPQR (a3a747)

  55. The first comments of mine that I can find are from this post from August of 2006. And they are not pretty. Ugh.

    Leviticus (efada1)

  56. The hash was introduced later, in fact much later than 2007, but now the hash is there on the old pages, and Google constantly updates its cache.

    Sammy Finkelman (6f9f42)

  57. You have to go the wayback machine or Internet archive sto see how a page actually looked in the past.

    Sammy Finkelman (6f9f42)

  58. Have kept the same handle ever since, though. I am proud of that. Lends credence to the idea that our words matter.

    I know some people change their handles for good reasons, but I also suspect that plenty change their handles for not-good reasons.

    Leviticus (efada1)

  59. Happy blogiversary, Patrick!

    This is what keeps me here:

    But I don’t change my views to suit my readers.

    I respect political bloggers who refuse to compromise their principles and views to get more clicks and hits. Consistency is vital. And to remain consistent and steadfast in the face of criticism and partisan attack is the hallmark of an individual firmly standing on his foundation. That might not always be a pretty sight, but Patrick has never been one to tailor-make his views to make readers happy. I can get behind that all day long. Even when I disagree with him.

    Also, I like an individual willing to go to the mat to present a well-reasoned argument supporting a position. I respect that person who has taken the time think through an issue, carefully, and without regard to whether their conclusion will be popular.

    May we all take more time to be silent, be still, and just quietly think.

    Here’s to another 14 years!

    Dana (023079)

  60. Have been a reader since 2004 or 2005. Only made two or three comments all that time. I still enhoy the blog and (not a criticism but a request) always like it when you return to the blog’s roots, and expose the latest, shall we say, inconsistencies from the LA Times.

    Bob L. (1bd99a)

  61. What a wild ride it has been these last 14 years. Patrick, don’t take the comments by pro-Trumpers too hard. These are nothing compared to what you have been through. I had almost forgotten about the SWATing and lawsuits. The stress most have been terrible. I too voted for Ted Cruz but did not hesitate to vote for Trump. I could not let Hillary put the finishing touches on “transforming America.”

    I had been a Patterico reader in 2006 by the time I was transferred downtown to the same 18th floor as Patrick was assigned. Funny thing is that I didn’t know he was the blogger. By the time I did, he was transferred. But since then, I am happy to say I consider Patrick a friend and support him thoroughly. I wish him continued success.

    AZ Bob (f7a491)

  62. I think I started following Patterico after the SWATTING event in 2012, and I found a hit on Google that showed I was around for your Blog’s 10th Anniversary. It’s interesting to see how many of our regular posters have been here for so much longer.

    It’s encouraging to see how the blog continues to discuss reality, while the state you live in becomes more and more disconnected from reality. The list of content from the 10th Anniversary is worth reviewing, if only to refresh our memories. This last year has been difficult, but there are plenty of highlights over recent years. I’m probably in a minority of one, maybe three, but I appreciated the economic readings you posted in the summer of 2015. The praxeology of the Austrian School has much to recommend it, and methodological link to other deductive studies, like geometry, was illustrative.

    My best wishes for you and your family.

    BobStewartatHome (c24491)

  63. My earliest comment here appears to have been on 11/10/04, although I’m sure I was reading you earlier — no later than September 2004 when I was also commenting on Rathergate on Beldar’s blog. Although I disagree with your assessment of Trump, you’ve always easily been the most honest and accurate blogger I’ve read.

    The Raving Atheist (c49f4a)

  64. Happy Blogiversary!

    I’ve been around for a while, though with gaps. I think I first found your blog and bookmarked it during the first Wienergate. I prefer the atmosphere on The Jury Talks Back (thank you for that!) so I tend to comment there. One of the reasons is it’s more conducive to discussion.

    Thank you for all that you do.

    Arizona CJ (191c8a)

  65. Congratulations on your blogiversary! This is still one my main blog stops nearly every day of the year. Here’s to continued success!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  66. Congrats on another year of the blog!

    I started reading you at the end of 2007 (was liked to the la times year end review). Was lucky to meet you, have a cup of coffee and some good conversation during one of your vacations to Monterey. Glad you and your family liked the aquarium here. I mostly lurk, only rarely popping out to comment.

    Thank you for a great blog. Best wishes for the next 14 years!

    back to lurking…..

    kenny (095f8c)

  67. Sammy, few of us have the same hash as we did 14 years ago. Different computers, dwellings, ISPs, etc.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  68. Pretty sure I was reading here almost from the outset. Sometime in 2003. I see a comment in December 2003 of mine, and I know I was reading during the Spysweeper discussion in November.

    Kevin M, you also gave me the tip for my biggest story in my first year or so as a blogger. I’m not sure I want to specify it because I don’t know if doing so would jeopardize your anonymity, but I have never forgotten it.

    Patterico (115b1f)

  69. Followed you here from ‘Oh, that liberal media’ using screen name “Blackjack.”

    I remember that name!!! I always wondered what had happened to him, ropelight! Great to see he didn’t disappear but just transformed.

    Patterico (115b1f)

  70. Was lucky to meet you, have a cup of coffee and some good conversation during one of your vacations to Monterey.

    kenny,

    I had forgotten about that until you reminded me but I remember now. That was fun, and it was a pleasure to meet you as well.

    Patterico (115b1f)

  71. This blog has been formative for me in a lot of ways, and I owe a big thank you to Patterico, DRJ, Dana, and a number of other folks for that. So, thank you. Here’s to the next 14 years.

    That’s very meaningful to me, Leviticus.

    The first comments of mine that I can find are from this post from August of 2006. And they are not pretty. Ugh.

    LOL. Aryan ego! That’s a laugh riot.

    I don’t know if I will be able to respond to all these comments, but it’s been great to read them, and I appreciate everyone taking the time to say a kind word or share a fun memory. It’s a dreary day outside with a storm on the horizon, but it’s all sunshine for me because of the comments to this post.

    Patterico (115b1f)

  72. “LOL. Aryan ego! That’s a laugh riot.”

    – Patterico

    I had just turned 17, and pretty much lived in a progressive bubble. I also thought I was the smartest guy in the world, like a lot of teenagers. The last ten years (and a number of the commenters here) have thoroughly disabused me of that notion.

    Leviticus (efada1)

  73. I want to mention that Patrick gave me a chance to write as a guest blogger for a while — which was great fun — and that through my back-channel contacts with him he put me in touch with Beldar, and through Beldar I met Hugh Hewitt, and Hugh and I have been good friends now for over 8 years.

    The first time I met Hugh in person we sat and watched the first Obama-McCain debate together, and talked politics and shared history for an hour after that. I’ve been on his radio show 3-4 times now when he’s broadcasting from my location, and I’m a “source” he uses on particular topics on his blog and in his columns.

    Not sure I can keep up that role now that he’s moved to the WaPo.

    But, I have Patrick and his blog to thank for ALL of that.

    shipwreckedcrew (56b591)

  74. Congratulations, Patterico!

    I’ve been reading since June of 2008.

    bridget (1c91a9)

  75. Reading the 2012 anniversary post was so much fun. Happy anniversary, Patterico. I am a better, smarter person because I read your blog.

    DRJ (15874d)

  76. Pat, has it really been 14 years?

    We both started blogging within a few months of each other, and we were both prosecutors, albeit in different counties. We finally met at a luncheon in honor of Ed Morrisey down in Orange County.

    I no longer post much, either on my own site, or anywhere else, due to new professional obligations, but I continue to read you everyday, along with your entertaining and informed commenters.

    Congrats!

    Mike (d92bea)

  77. This thread is especially fun to read. Not sure why but just saying. Nice to see how long people have been here.

    no one of consequence (325a59)

  78. I know I’ve probably been following this blog since 2004, but I don’t think I felt confident in commenting till 2005 or 2006.

    narciso (d1f714)

  79. ~~~ not nearly as Aryan as Leviticus thinks I am.

    😀

    papertiger (c8116c)

  80. Leviticus, I liked talking to you because I could tell you were (and are) smart and open to thinking about different ideas. I am glad you became part of this community and that it means something to you, too. I am honored to be Patterico’s friend and I bet you also feel that way.

    DRJ (15874d)

  81. I was worried when he claimed to be implied that he was sixteen and, at the same time, was flirting with Darleen Glick. Visions of the site being raided by the vice squad. 😉

    nk (dbc370)

  82. I also thought I was the smartest guy in the world, like a lot of teenagers. The last ten years (and a number of the commenters here) have thoroughly disabused me of that notion.

    Heh. Life has a way of doing that, no matter what one’s age.

    Dana (023079)

  83. NOOC,

    So nice to see you drop by. I miss your insightful comments and lively sense of humor.

    Dana (023079)

  84. Hi Dana,
    I meant it when I said I really enjoy reading everyone’s comments as much as the posts. All the good points are usually made before I log in so I usually lurk but I’m here 🙂 . Not taking away anything from Patterico’s special talents and insights, but this thread’s a good opportunity to say your posts especially resonate with me, maybe because your choice of subjects is many times the same thing I’d be writing about if I had a blog. Only you say it better. Keep up the great work; there are lots of us (per this very thread!) reading and appreciating the work of everyone contributing here. (and yes, this place is filled with people with great senses of humor, one more reason to hang out)

    no one of consequence (8fc8f6)

  85. Been reading since sometime during the ’08Election cycle. I’m often amazed at how closely our thought pricess is LLC Thanos for yur exdellent service to your readers!

    Denny Elrod (67625e)

  86. Well I’m late to the party but we met commenting together at “talkleft” and if memory serves you started this blog during that time, posted a link in one of your comments and I’ve been here ever since.

    Patrick (1448be)

  87. I believe I’ve been reading you since mid 2004. I’ve especially enjoyed the additional insight from the commenters. Congratulations on 14 years.

    Tanny O'Haley (55a9a7)

  88. I’ve read Patterico since 2003 but the earliest comment I left, that I can find, is this one from 2008.

    Gabriel Hanna (e227a1)

  89. Goodness gracious, I have no idea when I started posting. I know I read Patterico a long time before I ever did post.

    Newer posters should know about the harassment and professional danger he has had to endure simply for exercising his right to free speech.

    There are few bloggers more consistent in their beliefs and more intelligent than Patterico.

    Thank you from a guy just doing his job to a guy who takes the time from doing his job to help people think about the world around them.

    Patterico is a hero.

    Ag80 (eb6ffa)

  90. I’ve been reading you regularly since 2003, within months (at the most, perhaps less) of your start. Of the dozens and dozens of examples of me citing or linking or trackbacking to you or vice versa, the earliest I’ve noticed was September 2003, but by then I’m sure I’d been reading you regularly for some months.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  91. Did I just now fail to say “Congrats on your anniversary”? Shame on me, and congrats to you. Your excellence is consistent; your perspicacity far exceeds my own; and I hope you took my congratulations as implicit in the fact that I still read you regularly after this many years, which is about as high a compliment as I’m capable of bestowing by action, and one that ought outshine mere words.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  92. I’ve been reading since some time in 2003; I originally came here because this blog was part of a network of California political blogs which were talking about the recall.

    aphrael (3f0569)

  93. 67. Kevin M (25bbee) — 2/17/2017 @ 12:55 pm

    …few of us have the sdame hash as we did 14 years ago.

    SPQR doesn’t. I found out the circa 2008 hash by doing a Google search. So actually I don’t know that the first time he left a comment was December 12, 2007. I mentioned the same computer (or ISP it probably is) He probably didn’t leave many before, if he did.

    It’s hard to search for because Google shows the latest version of old pages, and the contents of the Recent Comments box may show the name of someone who only started posting much later.

    Google doesn’t change the date of the page when these kind of changes occur – which is a good thing, as the alternative would be worse. There’s the same problem with searching only for old news stories about something that just got a lot of new attention in the news. Many news pages show links to recent stories, so if something just got into the news a lot, you’ll retrieve irrelevant stories, from the time period you have narrowed your search down to, that don’t mention what you are looking for at all but just have a link to a story from less than two weeks ago or so.

    Using the hash lets you retrieve only things from that time, but that hash can change periodically, so if SPQR used something different before December 12, 2007, I wouldn’t find it till I found an older hash. I was hoping that he might be able to tell me something like that if it was true that Dec 2007 was far too late. He might say “December 2007 – that’s when I changed ISPs, started using a different computer etc.” But maybe , even if so, he missed what I as saying.

    Sammy Finkelman (8dcc71)

  94. Sammy, I’m not going to discuss what ISP’s I’ve used over the last two decades.

    SPQR (a3a747)

  95. Sir, I found your site in early 2005. Neptunus Lex, USS Clueless, yourself and a few others were my mainstay for informative, interesting, and stimulating writing. Today, nearly 60 years old, every election cycle (4 yr) it has been the same old same old. Fight for you, middle class tax cuts, save SS, fight for the poor, balance the budget, cut the national debt, create jobs… The election of Trump, to me, is the result of desperation of those who want to save the country from its death spiral. Is he perfect, heck no. But his drive and effort, to date, and his talented choices for cabinet positions give me hope that we can turn this country around. I like him, and you, – you’re both fighters when attacked. Keep writing, I’ll keep reading.

    William Sylvester (91c368)

  96. Oops, I’m late to the party, but I’ve been reading you since 2008 I would guess. You are usually the first blog I check after perusing Drudgereport. Congratulations on a fine blogging career.

    Ken in Camarillo (fe2134)


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