Alias

I realize this is a bit of a sensitive topic, but I was just reading Eschaton, and Atrios (Duncan Black) has some guests blogging today. I read this..

I was relaxing this evening, checking in on this blog occasionally. Avedon and Echidne have put up some really excellent and substantive posts.

I thought.. 'Where is Iceman, and Maverick? Goose, don't eject out of the cockpit, you'll die!'

An Alias has it's place. If you're cruising online for cheap and meaningless sex, by all means be Studmuffin4U. If you're playing an on-line game, it's proper to come up with some witty or snarky name for yourself. However, in the political blog-o-sphere, an alias is just retarded.

Explain to me how the fuck "Avedon" and "Echidne" can have substantive posts when they write behind names like that? What the fuck?

Some would argue that the author is irrelevant and it's the words that count. To a certain degree, that's true, but honesty and integrity has a whole heck of a lot to do with credibility. You can't separate them out.

We're not talking about a fiction novel - this is politics. Be proud of what you believe.

Also - I really dislike guest bloggers that Atrios has on occasionally.. Eschaton is a very high profile liberal blog. I could care fucking less if "Attaturk" is "relaxing this evening", or "checking in on this blog." They haven't earned the right to think we're interested in their lives. Eschaton is not the type of site that is small, and personal. It gets over 300,000 hits a day for pete's sake.

The guest writers are absurd in their tone and style - and hide behind a fictitious name in the political arena. What Ever!