Why do I do this?

I think Matthew Engle puts it best in his latest column:

To some extent, journalists have felt obliged to tone down criticisms because of the sense of shared national purpose after September 11. Even that cannot explain how the papers cravenly ignored the Trent Lott story. Lott, the veteran senator from Mississippi, made his pro- segregation statement on a Thursday, in full earshot of the Washington press corps. The Times and Post both failed to mention it. Indeed, it was almost totally ignored until the following Tuesday, kept alive until then only by a handful of bloggers. If there is a Watergate scandal lurking in this administration, it is unlikely to be Woodward or his colleagues who will tell us about it. If it emerges, it will probably come out on the web. That is a devastating indictment of the state of American newspapers.

He means this as a strong criticism against American newspapers, but what it says of the power of the blogger is what I like to focus on. I like that. I want that power.

Seriously, though. This is an important point: the internet is the only voice of dissentin American media. The government hasn't figured out how to control it yet. And when they do, technology will give a new place to voice dissent. So long as I have a voice, I might as well offer it, since everybody else on earth is far better off reading my opinions than forming their own.

So, once again, I hope you all enjoy this site in the meantime.