As a rule, I really like Bruce R’s blog Flit. However, I am starting to wonder about his choice of blog partners. T. M. Lutas is not the sharpest crayon in the shed.
This in the way of introduction to this exciting new theory of American’s Iraq reconstruction plan. Salam Pax said:
I guess you’ve been hearing news about Mosul? Well it’s worse. The security situation isn’t too bad (they don’t rely on Americans in these parts- if they did it wouldn’t be any better than Baghdad). Electricity is more or less sorted out (although we do have problems)- and no, it wasn’t the Amreeeekan who got things running, thank you very much.
Lutas enthusiastically responded:
These are not the words of somebody who is going to feel permanently humiliated at their dependence on america. That’s all to the good and may there be many more such independent people.
Yep. We’re failing to provide electricity in Iraq so that the people of Iraq can feel self-reliant. Perhaps it’ll distract them from the fact that we haven’t yet let them try their own war criminals. I mean, yeah, as a tactic it’d work — but it kind of ignores the resentment it’d engender.
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I’ve always liked Flit too, because of a combination of Bruce Rolston’s military experience, and the fact that he comes at things politically from a far different angle than my own.
But now that he’s added a partner, it’s changed the entire character of the blog — even though the person he added is someone I might be closer to politically much of the time.
As a result, all of Lutas’ posts seem to strike a dischordant note — especially since the blogging partners don’t really bother to engage each other on any issue. If they did, the partnership would make more sense.
Fortunately, there is a solution, as Bruce has added a button that removes Lutas’ posts, or alternatively, Rolston’s (though I’m not sure why you would want to do that). If anything, I’m thinking Lutas should have just started his own seperate blog on his own.
You know, I think that’s it. It’s not so much that Lutas is a bad blogger — I might well read him on his own — but it’s very dissonant with Bruce’s posts. There’s no common thread, even of topics.
Bruce & I discussed whether we should comment on each other’s posts in an email discussion off blog and it’s the strategy he chose. There are, no doubt, items he would nit pick with me and ones I certainly disagree on with him. His blog, his rules.
I’m also on strategytalk.org if you want to see me with a bit more interaction with others.
Finally, why don’t I just get my own blog? I probably will in future. Creating some sort of limited wiki on Machiavelli’s Discourses will probably be the catalyst for it. I’m thinking through the issues but have other things in my life that prevent me from devoting much time to the issue.