New diavloggers we'd like to see

[bjkeefe]

Nominate some new faces in this thread. (Seems like we had one of these started already, but I can't find it.)

[bjkeefe]

If this isn't a direct challenge to Bob Wright, I don't know what is.

I've heard this guy on The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe. He's good.

[Bloggin' Noggin]

I think Josh Knobe should get Kwame Anthony Appiah to come on Bloggingheads some time. They could talk about experimental ethics, since that's Josh's schtick. Then Appiah could come back and talk about liberalism or multiculturalism or identity politics with a particularly thoughtful conservative another time.

I wasn't happy with Cass Sunstein's fuddy-duddy position on the web, but I'd love to see him come back and talk about originalism or Obama (whom he knows and supports) -- or Roosevelt's "Second Bill of Rights" or just about anything.

Richard Posner would be pretty interesting -- maybe pair him with Sunstein?

[rgajria]

Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone
The ladies from Feministing.com
Neil Gabler
Professor Dave Berkman - (Retired)University of Wisconsin Journalism Professor and media critic
Amardeep Singh, Assistant Professor of English at Lehigh University
Prem Panicker of Rediff, India Abroad, and Smoke Signals
Amit Varma of India Uncut
Krishna Tunga of Cricket Nirvana
Mary Katherine Hamm
Josh Marshall
Jeff Jarvis

That should do it for now.

[rgajria]

Amy Holmes
Any two blokes discussing music.

[PreppyMcPrepperson]

Jon Fine would be good for the latter.

[bjkeefe]

rgajria:

I don't know most of your nominees, but I certainly second the votes for Matt Taibbi and for someone from Feministing.

Josh Marshall was on BH.tv before, once I think, long ago. He was good, and I'd like to see him back.

[Thus Spoke Elvis]

Originally Posted by bjkeefe

rgajria:

I don't know most of your nominees, but I certainly second the votes for Matt Taibbi and for someone from Feministing.

Matt Taibbi? Ugh. Have you ever seen the guy on Colbert or Bill Maher's show? Taibbi in front of a camera is like a deer caught in headlights. I think his writing generally sucks, but he's way, waaay better on the printed page than in an extemporaneous setting.

[bjkeefe]

Originally Posted by Thus Spoke Elvis

Matt Taibbi? Ugh. Have you ever seen the guy on Colbert or Bill Maher's show? Taibbi in front of a camera is like a deer caught in headlights. I think his writing generally sucks, but he's way, waaay better on the printed page than in an extemporaneous setting.

That is not at all my impression of him, based on seeing him several times on Maher's show. I think his writing generally rocks.

We're agreed that his writing is better than his on-camera persona.

[bjkeefe]

Matt Taibbi will be on BookTV this weekend, interviewed by David Corn. (details)

[look]

Originally Posted by bjkeefe

Matt Taibbi will be on BookTV this weekend, interviewed by David Corn. (details)

What a co-inky-dink...I can immediately evaluate TSE's opinion. Thanks for the heads-up, Brendan.

[rgajria]

Real Player keeps timing out for me so I cannot watch the Matt Taibbi interview. I have updated the player, messed with the settings to no good effect.

[bjkeefe]

Originally Posted by rgajria

Real Player keeps timing out for me so I cannot watch the Matt Taibbi interview. I have updated the player, messed with the settings to no good effect.

Wish I could offer you the key tip, but all I can say is that it appears to be working for me.

[bjkeefe]

Just watched it to completion without a hiccup. Maybe they were having server problems at the time you watched it?

Anyway, good luck.

[bjkeefe]

Thought I'd stick this here, since some of the readers of this forum might be interested.

While looking at Rolling Stone's site for McChrystal news (vide), I noticed that Matt Taibbi is back to blogging there.

In his latest post as of this moment, he lets us know he's back from vacation/honeymoon, planning to give the financial beat a rest and take a look at BP instead, and also that he has started Twittering. Interestingly enough, he is using an account that used to be a fake Matt Taibbi Twitter account. Soooo .... post-modern(?).

[nikkibong]

Originally Posted by bjkeefe

Thought I'd stick this here, since some of the readers of this forum might be interested.

While looking at Rolling Stone's site for McChrystal news (vide), I noticed that Matt Taibbi is back to blogging there.

FYI: true/slant, where taibbi had been, will soon be going to the way of the dodo.

[bjkeefe]

Originally Posted by nikkibong

FYI: true/slant, where taibbi had been, will soon be going to the way of the dodo.

Oh, no. I'm very sorry to hear that. I like that site, and I don't like to think that you are losing an outlet for your stuff.

Any dirt you can share? Any possibility someone else will just pick it up and keep it going, with possibly a different revenue-sharing scheme?

[Added] Is this related to the Forbes acquisition?

[Big Wayne]

Originally Posted by Thus Spoke Elvis

Matt Taibbi? Ugh. Have you ever seen the guy on Colbert or Bill Maher's show? Taibbi in front of a camera is like a deer caught in headlights. I think his writing generally sucks, but he's way, waaay better on the printed page than in an extemporaneous setting.

I used to totally agree. But he's gotten better, I think. I heard (but did not see) his C-SPAN appearance and it was really quite good.

[PreppyMcPrepperson]

Also, please Bob and co., do NOT give Jeff Jarvis any more outlets for his egomania. The man is quoted and cited everywhere already, and really only has one answer to everything "Be like Google."

[PreppyMcPrepperson]

Now that Cass Sunstein is on the SCOTUS short list, I think he'd do well to avoid BHTV.

[AemJeff]

I'll vote for Dawkins or John Derbyshire arguing against ID. I'll defer to others to choose a sufficiently sophisticated representative for the other side.

For that matter, how about another appearance of P. Z. Myers?

[bjkeefe]

Originally Posted by AemJeff

I'll vote for Dawkins or John Derbyshire arguing against ID. I'll defer to others to choose a sufficiently sophisticated representative for the other side.

That'd be fun, but Dawkins won't do it. Be nice to have Derb on -- a rightwinger that lefties would be cheering for. I have my doubts that there is such a thing as a sophisticated representative for the IDiots, but maybe we could find a sophistic one.

For that matter, how about another appearance of P. Z. Myers?

I'm all for that. Meantime, did you catch this? It's not a debate -- it's more along the lines of inviting a star preacher to give a guest sermon, and I was not impressed by the congregation, but PZ has a lot of interesting things to say.

[AemJeff]

Originally Posted by bjkeefe

That'd be fun, but I have my doubts that there is such a thing as a sophisticated representative for the IDiots, but maybe we could find a sophistic one.

<laughing!>

Thanks for the non-prophet link - I hadn't caught it.

[uncle ebeneezer]

Not new guys, but a pairing I'd love to see would be Bob Wright and Matt Lee. Bob always takes such an interest in the UN and I think he could ask Matt some great, bigger picture questions.

[uncle ebeneezer]

Pretty much anybody from Tomdispatch.com:

Tom Englehart
Chalmers Johnson
Mike Davis etc., etc.

can't think of too many conservatives (I'll leave that to rep commentors) but I'd love to hear Christopher Buckley (author, son of William F) interviewed next time he's got a book out.

Steven Pinker would be pretty high on my wish-list too. He does lots of interviews, but I think he would really be in his element on Sci-Sat or with an interview with Bob.

[bjkeefe]

uncle eb:

can't think of too many conservatives ...

I'd like to hear from James Poulos. I'm not sure if he's a conservative's conservative, but he strikes me as fairly conservative/libertarian, at first read, anyway. He's a co-blogger on The American Scene, along with Reihan Salam and others. A couple of other people on that site strike me as intelligent, too, but I've only just started reading it.

Not a conservative, but here's another blogger I just started reading: Ta-Nehsi Coates. He's an outer member of The Atlantic mafia, I think. I wouldn't mind hearing from him, albeit again based on only a couple weeks' worth of reading.

[rgajria]

Kevin James of Hardball Fame >)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1wSZBTAXRs

[rgajria]

Christopher Buckley

Yes, Yes, Yes

There was a priest Mr. Wright had interviewed for meaningoflife.tv , That guy should be on too.

[look]

From his small apartment -- operations core for Inner City Press -- near Arthur Avenue, he crunches lending data and publishes, as he did last week, analyses of racial and class disparities in bank lending. His passionate advocacy has stalled bank mergers across the nation.

Two years ago, his challenge persuaded Citigroup's CitiFinancial Credit Co. to pay a $70 million fine to settle Federal Reserve charges of impropriety in ladling out high-interest loans to the poor. That same year, J.P. Morgan planned to merge with Bank One. That stalled when Lee discovered Bank One financed usurious loans.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...041600841.html

I nominate Megan McArdle to conduct the interview.

[bjkeefe]

Weird how that article doesn't say anything about his UN coverage.

[graz]

Originally Posted by bjkeefe

Weird how that article doesn't say anything about his UN coverage.

There is this snippet tucked in there.

"Of late, he obtained a press desk at the United Nations, where he writes about atrocities in Uzbekistan and investigates strange doings at a multinational bank branch in a breakaway region of Georgia."

I hope Bob recognizes that we have a star in our midst... Par for the course I guess.

[bjkeefe]

Originally Posted by graz

There is this snippet tucked in there.

Huh. Can't believe I read right over that. Twice. Oh well. And thanks.

I hope Bob recognizes that we have a star in our midst... Par for the course I guess.

Yeah. That article certainly boosted my impression of him. I thought he was pretty cool for doing what he does just at the UN. Add in all this other stuff ... wow.

Thanks for the link, look.

[look]

Originally Posted by bjkeefe

Huh. Can't believe I read right over that. Twice. Oh well. And thanks.



Yeah. That article certainly boosted my impression of him. I thought he was pretty cool for doing what he does just at the UN. Add in all this other stuff ... wow.

Thanks for the link, look.

y/w

[Thus Spoke Elvis]

1. Daniel Dennett -- Noted philosopher and athiest, engaging speaker. Would be swell on an episode of Science Saturday or Free Will. Was once on Bob's Meaning of Life show.

2. John Derbyshire -- Old-style conservative columnist with interesting perspective on cultural issues. Would be a nice counterbalance to the almost uniform and unquestioning support for social tolerance and diversity among current diavloggers. Would surely provoke strong reaction from audience and fellow diavlog participant.

3. A conservative lawyer to discuss torture, terrorist surveillance, Geneva Conventions, etc. (Jack Goldsmith? David Rivkin?) -- The diavloggers who regularly discuss these issues come from the left/center-left (Balkin, Glenwald, Brookes), and it would be nice to hear the perspective of the other side.

4. Christopher Hitchens -- Always great viewing, preferably when paired with someone who disagrees with him.

[bjkeefe]

Elvis:

I second all your nominations. Good choices.

I point out that for #3, we've had Eugene Volokh on. Which is not to say that I consider that box permanently checked.

[Thus Spoke Elvis]

Originally Posted by bjkeefe

Elvis:

I second all your nominations. Good choices.

I point out that for #3, we've had Eugene Volokh on. Which is not to say that I consider that box permanently checked.

Thanks! Volokh has been on bloggingheads once, and then to discuss constitutional issues relating to religion and the right to bear arms with Jack Balkin.

I'm more interesting in hearing the conservative legal perspective with respect to wartime issues. The diavloggers have been uniform in taking an anti-Administration position, but there is in fact another side to the debate.

[bjkeefe]

Originally Posted by Thus Spoke Elvis

Thanks! Volokh has been on bloggingheads once, and then to discuss constitutional issues relating to religion and the right to bear arms with Jack Balkin.

I'm more interesting in hearing the conservative legal perspective with respect to wartime issues. The diavloggers have been uniform in taking an anti-Administration position, but there is in fact another side to the debate.

I could swear that we've had a torture-related legal debate, with one of the two diavloggers taking what I'd call a conservative stance. Didn't know the guy beforehand, so his name isn't coming back to me ... oh, wait, Teh Google!

Ah, yes.

I don't know if you consider Eric Posner a conservative or not, but this diavlog with Jack Balkin seems to be what you're asking for. As I remember it, torture was one of the debate topics, and there were other war-related issues discussed, IIRC.

Posner has been on two other times, as well, another episode with Balkin and one with Heather Hurlbert.

Again, I am not saying the issues you're interested in have been settled. Just referring you to those diavlogs in case you missed them.

[Thus Spoke Elvis]

Thanks for the links. I now remember watching those and being rather dissatisfied, because Posner's entire argument in each is based on a pragmatic view that Bush broke the law, but it needed to be broken. That's a decent secondary argument, but it would be nice to have a conservative actually argue as to whether anything we've done actually breaks the law in the first place. I've read plenty who make that argument (in my opinion, convincingly with respect to some issues), and I'd like to hear them debate some of our liberal diavloggers on these issues.

[bjkeefe]

Originally Posted by Thus Spoke Elvis

Thanks for the links. I now remember watching those and being rather dissatisfied, because Posner's entire argument in each is based on a pragmatic view that Bush broke the law, but it needed to be broken. That's a decent secondary argument, but it would be nice to have a conservative actually argue as to whether anything we've done actually breaks the law in the first place. I've read plenty who make that argument (in my opinion, convincingly with respect to some issues), and I'd like to hear them debate some of our liberal diavloggers on these issues.

Huh. I haven't come across anything that attempts to defend torture, except in the pragmatic sense that you attribute to Posner or by arguing that specific acts aren't really torture. So you're saying that there is a point of view out there that says torture is legal? (I do remember reading Dershowitz's argument that it should be.)

[look]

Originally Posted by Thus Spoke Elvis

2. John Derbyshire -- Old-style conservative columnist with interesting perspective on cultural issues. Would be a nice counterbalance to the almost uniform and unquestioning support for social tolerance and diversity among current diavloggers. Would surely provoke strong reaction from audience and fellow diavlog participant.

TSE, I don't read NRO, but the two items I've come across about Derbyshire are that he questioned the bravery of the massacred VA Tech students (quite soon after the event, to boot), and that Linda Chavez complained that he seems to find it amusing to call Mexicans Aztecs.

Would you mind linking to some pieces of his you especially liked?

I would love to see Hitchens on, too, but I wonder if he's too big-time for that. I just hope he wouldn't discuss religion.