HULK SMASH!!!
Get a job.
I hear stripping pays well. And if you are in LA, a lap dance is six feet away.
No doubt Jeralyn could make a fortune that way, but it would take time away from blogging.
it would take time away from blogging.
Not if she adds a webcam feature to the blog...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI...&
category=11153
KerryGraham04.com on eBay! It's for sale!
i need an actual job, forget the lap top!
as to the above, maybe you could call it "laptop dancing."
Boy, she's not asking for much, just a $2400 Sony Vaio. Hey, I need a new laptop, a car, a job, a decent place to live, but you don't see me cyberbegging. Even in my impoverished state, I will pledge $5 towards a used iBook, which should cost about $250 and is perfectly adequate for blogging.
Thing is, I've already helped Jeralynn twice this year, and right now I have significant cash (for me) invested in another alturistic web project.
I find almost all of these comments to be highly offensive. I'll leave it at that.
Y'all are complete fools to think you could ever come remotely close to matching Jeralyn's brain when it comes to informed law blogging.
You stupid fux (Atrios gets it), the issue isn't her need, the issue is keep her brain flow live in the ether.
If a Sony is what makes her happy and the brain flow bubbling, buy the fucking thing as soon as possible.
Go ahead, dick with me. One fucking word and I swear to God Jearlyn will have the best Sony laptop on the market in seven days. Fucking watch me.
It isn't charity and no one is claiming it is. She's made an appeal for private generosity or corporate largesse. She provides a free service, and NPR/PBS-style people can either contribute or not.
I don't know how you fence with these foul brains so much and stay healthy, Atrios.
I mean, chivalry was a long time ago, okay, but since when do accomplished, brilliant committed American women become targets of such callous vitriol?
I apologize for all the swearing.
Yeah, well go buy her a Vaio then. Talk is cheap, I've already put up my $5, which is probably the equivalent of $2400 adjusted to YOUR income.
Some of us contribute to The Cause in the only way we can, with our words and deeds, since we have no money. Most of us aren't in a profession where we could bill $50/hr and be considered at the low end of the pay scale.
Charles,
I can't afford to buy her a Vaio. Maybe someone else can. That is all.
too fucking bad, you lefty idiot.
Atrios, that remark was aimed at paradox.
I look forward to more razor-sharp legal analysis of the Scott & Laci Peterson case
DAVID EHRENSTEIN: IF YOU FEEL LIKE FUCKING LITTLE BOYS, YOU SHOULDN'T !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i see 'god' is feeling a bit pissy today. about time with all the neo-con's fucking over the world in her name.
J.T.
"Some of us contribute to The Cause in the only way we can, with our words and deeds"
Hmmm-ah-hmmmm, I will keep in mind your are a good Democrat, Charles. I am this author:
http://
www.democraticunderground...19_patriot.html
I do a lot more than give away treasure--a lot of time and labor, too.
My sister made partner at Wilson-Soncini. Berkeley, Columbia Law. Yeah, the Soncini that recently turned down the temp CEO job at the NYSE. I'll give her a call and Jeralyn will get her Sony. She lives in a SF victorian mansion with three cars. I've never her asked her for anything.
Talk may cheap to you, Charles. I suppose you don't know me very well. I say what I mean, and mean what I say.
If one of them would like to send us a new, light-weight laptop (so we can keep blogging when we travel)
This is the kind of thing that gives liberals a bad name. If you are going to ask for a hand-out at least stop referring to yourself as "we".
I wonder if Jeralyn has closed the thread in question to comments because of this sort of hostility or because she's deleted comments in the past that have questioned the idea of bloggers asking for financial support in order to essentially carry out their hobbies.
I bow down before the most-exalted-paradox, whose boots I am not worthy to lick. I don't have any rich lawyers in the family, and when I lived in SF I was looking for work so I used mass transit. This obviously makes me an unworthy Democrat compared to the sibling of a $500/hr lawyer. Nevermind that my $5 pledge means I would have to skip a meal, while your sister would merely forgo 1 self-indulgent clothing purchase at Neiman-Marcus. People like your sister (THREE cars in San Francisco, the city with the best mass transit in the US?!?) make me want to puke. But I'll get over it if you just get your sister to buy me a car, I deserve it. My rusty old '65 Plymouth is up on cinder blocks, I desperately need a new one. Here's my wishlist, any of these cars would be acceptable: Cadillac Deville, BMW Z4, Aston Martin DB9. Of course I could get across town just as well in a used Toyota Tercel, but I need to keep those creative juices flowing somehow.
Yep, you say what you mean and you mean what you say, which is about as meaningless a tautology as everything else you've said. I don't know you but I know the kind of people who try to establish themselves as some sort of authority based on their sister's works and their own vague and unnamed saintly works. But I know one thing, you don't speak for your sister. Talk is cheap. I'll sit back and wait for Jeralyn to receive her luxurious new Vaio, and when your sister fails to come through, my $5 for a used iBook will still be waiting. And since I will still be unemployed because there are no jobs in the Bush economy, I'll still have to forgo a meal to donate that $5. Money talks, bullshit walks, I don't see you putting up even $5 of your own money. I want Jeralyn to get a new computer, but beggars can't be choosers, and she sure as hell doesn't need a $2400 computer to get the job done. That is sheer hubris.
This reminds me of those chicks who beg for implants or plastic surgery on the web.
I could understand if she were homeless, or had legal expenses ( as the BBV people may) for taking a stand to court.
But, this is kind of namby-pamby.
Easy solution would be to quit writing, save some cash, return.
Or even buy an OLDER model. After all, she isn't doing memory intensive work, like graphics.
Big thumbs down, as it just isn't deserving. enough. And on GP.
Just way too many opinion people out there, about time some got weeded out. hell, you all start saying the same thing after a while, and quote each other.
Like some net clique.
Oh God! Just let her be! TalkLeft, one of the best blogs out there.
Oh God! Just let her be! TalkLeft, one of the best blogs out there.
Queen Mab
Yep, that article on the Kobe assassin, was really cutting edge.
Meanwhile, the BBV people are providing files for download. Files that prove vast security holes in the boxes.
Atrios, she calls you a "prince." You gonna let her get away with that?
Mith
Goodness,
I need a new car!
A Lexus would be great,
but,
whatever you can GIVE me would be great.
(Tilting his head coyly)
Please?
Damn, trout, you are funny tonight.
God,
people are mean. She asks because she could use some help. If you are inclined to give, you do, and if not, you don't. But you don't have to be so nasty about it.
This reminds me of a homeless man in my town that kept asking for money to buy some sort of dip (it was in front of an Wild Oats), and people kept buying him other things, instead of giving him money. Of course, they thought they "knew" better what the poor man needed.
Anyway, I bring it up because I don't see why people are criticizing TalkLeft for asking what she wants. She didn't ask people to approve or endorse her choice of a laptop. Either you give or not. She can buy the best model she can if she gets enough money. If not, I am sure she's smart enough to get what she can with what she gets. And you give because you appreciate her work. It can be $1 or $100, whatever you can.
Stop being mean, people. Where's the love???
Colita, your homeless anecdote reminds me of an incident I witnessed in San Diego. A woman carrying a baby was panhandling in front of a grocery store, begging for money for milk. As I left the store, she was still there, and some kind woman bought her a gallon of milk. The woman took the milk container and violently smashed it on the ground, screaming "I asked for MONEY for milk!"
The homeless guy in my story wasn't violent, he received whatever they bought him, and kept repeating, 'but I need some dip'... It was really sad. People walking by didn't want to listen to him, they were busy just shutting their conscience up.
Where's all this fucking hostility coming from?
Jesus, people. This is the angriest thread on Atrios' site that I've seen all year. Lighten up a little.
Well, Sony VAIO's are nice but I'm going to suggest someone tell Jeralyn to check out the "Hot Deal" forums at FatWallet.Com and Anandtech.Com for more reasonable deals on perfectly serviceable laptop PC's.
Right now for example you can pick up an HP Pavilion ze4400 series with an Athlon XPM 2200+ processor, a 15 inch XGA TFT LCD screen (and S-video output), DVD/CD-RW, 256 meg of DDR 2100 RAM, ATi Radeon based video, Windows XP and with a free spare Lith-ion battery. All for around 700 bucks after discounts and a 100 dollar rebate. Weight? About 7 pounds with battery.
I picked up one of the HP's, basically the same as above but with a slower processor, a few months back when my old Sony died. (Well, it didn't just die exactly. More like I killed it.) It really is a perfectly nice laptop and if anything I like it better than the Sony.
There's an update on talkleft:
Update: We're speechless. Absolutely speechless. And that's pretty rare for us. Our wish list is showing that someone has bought us the laptop we wanted. We are very, very grateful. Whoever you are, thank you. If you included a note with the order, we will thank you properly as soon as Amazon lets us know who you are. If you sent it anonymously, please know we are in awe of your generosity (and hoping you don't change your mind!)
There was a request for help in running a left wing web site, so if you want to give, give. If you don't no one is making you.
We can't all go to on our knees to Big Daddy Scaife when we need something. We can't all depend on some CIA slush fund, The Unification Church for example.
It isn't as if everyone with something to say has the money to fund a web site themslves. And if the person is a woman? Well, it isn't as if she's a member of the Peroxide Aryan Sisterhood.
That is assuming the above dirty-mouths aren't just young Republicans, bored after their frat party.
Stop being mean, people. Where's the love???
Colita
Love and enabling are two different things.
Simple solution to web begging.
GET A JOB!
Oh, wait I forgot part two.
SAVE FOR WHAT YOU WANT!
Simple enough.
It isn't as if everyone with something to say has the money to fund a web site themslves.
It isn't that expensive. Many places, as well as nearly ALL ISP's, provide free sites.
You just cut and past links, and offer some glib commentary everyday.
It ain't rocket science.
If it were Bartcop, wouldn't be doing it.
If you don't like it, don't give and ignore it. I know lots of people with jobs who would have trouble buying a lap top. Some of them would be great bloggers, or posters. Why should they "Shut up, just shut-up!" I like the linking sites, they usually find something I'd never have seen on my own.
It's kind of interesting, with the amount of 'cyberbegging' that does go on, you would at least think that folks you help out would remember to send a thank-you note. Of all the places I have given money, only one BuzzFlash has acknowledged a donation. And they seemed shocked that I wanted no merchandise in return. I am not interested in public recognition, just a 'thanks' e-mail. I guess it's my bad for overexpecting common courtesy.
Sites that immediately come to mind that never say "thanks" but are in perpetual dollar-flog mode:
Atrios
Bartcop
dKos (substandtial donation for new server)
and a couple of others, as well as support for Blogathon 2003.
I love to read the stuff all you all write, and might even contribute $$ again, but I'll have to think about it next time. Is that wrong?
Back when a Siny VIAO PGC-505TX ran $3k plus change, I forced my then-employer (Nokia Research) to get that, at sub-3lbs, rather than the company standard (IBM|Dell|blah) at a $1k less, and at least 4 lbs more.
I think Jeralyn's spot on, for people who really work, the tool really matters. Jeralyn really works on TalkLeft. I've no idea if she has carpal, or any other weight-sensative physical issues, but I do, and a sub-5lbs current product from a major vendor choice seems damn reasonable to me.
Donater,
depending on how you give money, the blogger might not be aware of who gives them money. I remember Atrios getting help fixing his car --when he owned one-- and thanking people publicly.
Well, if the "experts" who were supposed to fix my laptop hadn't rendered it totally inoperable instead, I might have chipped in. I don't read TalkLeft very much, but I do appreciate the fact that bloggers are donating a tremendous amount of their time to all of us.
Unfortunately, I actually had to pay a "ransom" just to get my laptop out of the hands of the people who ruined it. I can't afford anything right now but good wishes to Jeralyn.
Colita - I've donated to bloggers from their wish lists, included a note, and never been acknowledged. I admit, I was slightly put off by that. It's kind of a manners thing.
It looks like my reverse psychology worked, someone donated.
Charles - given the massive self-congratulations Paradox was giving himself last night, let's hope it was him.
Is that wrong?
Donater
I see maintaining an opinion site as vanity, or stroking the ego.
Hell, if these people could make money doing it they would be PROFESSIONALS.
Instead it is a hobby, that we have the privilege to donate to.
What does your donation get you? Cure for cancer? membership in an exclusive club? Web porn? Discounts on shopping?
Your dollar goes into someone elses pocket, who then offers an opinion on a cut and pasted article/link.
At least Bartcop is doing this fulltime, so it is his living.
All the rest are hobbieists.
This is as good a scam as professional religion.
Good for Jeralyn.
I agree this is the weirdest, most mean-spirited comment thread I've ever seen here. Boy, does material envy bring out the savage beast or what.
To clarify, I don't mind a "gift" link, I wish doctors and teachers had gift links.
But, BEGGING for cash or merchandise, well reminds me of the Breast Implant girls on the net.
I agree this is the weirdest, most mean-spirited comment thread I've ever seen here. Boy, does material envy bring out the savage beast or what.
Sharkbabe
Hmm, Cancer, abused children, or Blogger's fancy laptop?
Now where should my hard earned money go?
let's hope it was him.
Tena
He volunteered his sisters money.
So, thanks should go to her.
I admit, I was slightly put off by that. It's kind of a manners thing.
Tena
Manners my ass. Reflects the regard they hold for you.
Fan based source of income.
POS - I take your point, but - don't take this wrong - if that's how you feel, why are you here? I like your comments, don't want to see you leave. But I honestly don't get it.
POS - I take your point, but - don't take this wrong - if that's how you feel, why are you here? I like your comments, don't want to see you leave. But I honestly don't get it.
Tena
same reason we are all here, loneliness.
Places like this exist in two parts, one the initial commentary.
There are plenty of commentary sites, that don't have user input.
Second as a forum.
Does the forum REALLY change anyones mind outside the forum?
Probably not.
But, it allows people to be witty and supportive of each other. It alleviates the loneliness we feel in our daily lives.
Seriously read through the threads. Not much is REAL information. Most is opinion, or restatement of opinion.
This is the place I come AFTER visiting the other news sites. Usually, what I read here is a couple of days behind other sites. Which isn't bad.
But overall it is SUPPORTIVE of a certain distinct viewpoint. A point of view most of us don't have in our offline lives.
Face it, this is a POLITICAL chat site. An ANTI-BUSH political chat site.
Which again isn't a bad thing.
You get instant gratification. If you are funny, people appreciate it.
Some of us obviously devote our entire day to these Blogs (see above). These comment threads pretty much stand in for real life for many.
So we could help out... Are these little families of WebLogs not worth as much as cable? And at least as legitimate and valuable? I pay $40 a month for cable, and my life would be richer for the loss of O'Reilley, Hannity... without Atrios, Tbogg, TalkLeft and others I would be adrift.
As for the percieved need at TalkLeft. The site is a very good one - despite the occasional dip into Kobe Scott Peterson territory - that covers material that isn't covered here or anywhere else. Personally I think we need more lawyers with a progressive left tilt and a willingness to intersect with us.
If you don't want to support, don't. If you want to make the blanket statement that Bloggers should work for free, then do so in a rational way.
But the snarky remarks about the appropriateness of the appeal are just negative.
But the snarky remarks about the appropriateness of the appeal are just negative.
Anonymous
So, by your reasoning
I post my opinion everyday
My opinion is valuable
My muffler needs repair
Since my opinion is valuable, someone should give me money to repair my muffler?
Just to be supportive, right?
These comment threads pretty much stand in for real life for many.
Hopefully this isn't true for anyone.
That is a very scary statement.
This shouldn't be a stand in for real life.
Just a forum for those lacking this type of support in real life.
Real life > forum posting.
Also, this should not be a REPLACEMENT for individual thought.
Parroting makes one a ditto head.
And, we all know where that leads.
I'm still waiting for my car....
I'm still waiting for my car....
trout
Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz ?
My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends.
Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends,
So Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz ?
Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a color TV ?
Dialing For Dollars is trying to find me.
I wait for delivery each day until three,
So oh Lord, won’t you buy me a color TV ?
Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a night on the town ?
I’m counting on you, Lord, please don’t let me down.
Prove that you love me and buy the next round,
Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a night on the town ?
Everybody!
Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz ?
My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends,
Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends,
So oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz ?
That’s it!
It all comes down to the pop-psych book's title: "When I say no I feel guilty."
And in some people's heads, it gets changed further int anger that the person would dare ask.
The following are entirely legitimate answers towards a request:
1)Can't afford it.
2)Don't like the service (performance/creartion) that much.
3)Don't trust you.
If I come to any of those three conclusions, I don't contribute. Absent those, I do.
2 further comments:
the "they/he/she don't really need it" is simply #3. It's a false passive. Don't stand behind that. Say "I don't trust TalkLeft to make good use of a donation", if you want to try to convince others, or make no pronouncements if you don't.
The one that does piss me off is "if they were really good writers, they'd be professionals" Especially in the political realm, this is so absurd as to be infuriating. If you take out the false passive and rephrase it as "If these people were good writers, some corporation or organization would be paying them."
Uh-huh.
I agree that this is probably the nastiest thread I've seen since I gravitated here.
The one that does piss me off is "if they were really good writers, they'd be professionals" Especially in the political realm, this is so absurd as to be infuriating.
So you are saying they don't have the talent? The work ethic?
That it is IMPOSSIBLE for them to be professional paid writers?
All comes down to how one wants to justify begging.
Especially begging from someone who has a JOB, and if she is a lawyer ( I assumed from the posts, and I could be wrong) then she has a shitload of cash.
If not, what happened to good old saving? Or, buying a less expensive product?
I agree that this is probably the nastiest thread I've seen since I gravitated here.
pbg
Doubt that.
POS, you're a negative fuck =>)
And this entire thread is moot anyway, since somebody already bought Jeralyn a nice, shiny new Vaio. Feeling envious yet?
POS, you're a negative fuck =>)
No, I fuck the developed way.
And this entire thread is moot anyway, since somebody already bought Jeralyn a nice, shiny new Vaio. Feeling envious yet?
No. Pretty much I'll go the game machine route for the next one I buy. may even build it myself.
After that maybe a HTPC.
Why should anyone feel envious?
Envious is a front projector that does 720p, on a hundred inch screen, with bass shakers and pounding sub, 7.1 home theater.
Anyone got that?
Jeebus, you'd think she was threatening to butcher a cat, live on webcam, from the sounds of this thread.
Running a consistently-updated website is a lot of work. She needed a new computer. She could reasonably assume that a lot of people with more money than her read her site, and let her need be known. I didn't see a threat, or carping, or anything -- in fact, she offered an advertising/link deal in return.
I mean, if you don't read her site, you certainly shouldn't give a crap -- and if you do read her site, than it's pretty low to think that not only are you entitled to read her stuff, but you get to bitch at the horrible inappropriateness of her asking for a donation if anyone in the world feels they want to, and can afford it.
Same goes for Atrios & the other bloggers asking for donations. How the hell does anyone who voluntarily and frequently comes to this site, or any other site, get to bitch about the proprietor having the audacity to politely request something in return?
If you don't think it's valuable, why are you here? (Or there, as the case may be.) And if you can't/won't give a monetary contribution, can't you at least contribute the gift of shutting the hell up about it?
Fan based source of income.
Yes, that's exactly it. Who cares? Every actor, writer, musician, sports star, yada-yada-yada in America makes their living via fan-based income. Seems to me a pretty logical system.
I mean, if you don't read her site, you certainly shouldn't give a crap -- and if you do read her site, than it's pretty low to think that not only are you entitled to read her stuff, but you get to bitch at the horrible inappropriateness of her asking for a donation if anyone in the world feels they want to, and can afford it.
Gp. I don't know the girls who were begging for the breast implants either.
I'm certain their services made someone happy as well.
Maybe the whole point is begging vs saving.
I want a new tv I save. I don't hang out on the street corner and beg.
If you have the ABILITY to achieve something on your own, you should.
It is like cheating at solitaire, or any game.
Demeaning.
besides, cancer, Disabled Kids, Homeless, aren't those more worthy of a donation than a laptop for someone with a job?
Same goes for Atrios & the other bloggers asking for donations. How the hell does anyone who voluntarily and frequently comes to this site, or any other site, get to bitch about the proprietor having the audacity to politely request something in return?
The warez groups often list, well before p2p, ftp sites for people to SHARE what they had. If someone charged, set up a ratio, or only allowed specific trades,the community would bitch.
It isn't the fact of donations. It is specifically asking for a nearly $3000 laptop.
In my neck of the woods, that is about 1/3 what a LOT of people make yearly.
I don't see them begging?
I see them BUDGETING.
Sorry, 1/4. I do know quite a few who make less though.
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