The Democratic National Convention in Denver will have a “State Blogger Corps,” one per state, that will be credentialed and seated alongside the state delegations at the Convention in Denver. When I applied for the Political Parlor to represent Alabama there, I thought the Clinton-Obama drama might create a convention even more exciting than most, but that part of the story now looks to be finished by convention time. Regardless, I am glad to learn that the Parlor has been accepted as Alabama’s credentialed blog at the Democratic National Convention.
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The Top Posts page has been updated to show the Parlor’s posts that were viewed most often in April, based on the number of clicks on individual posts.
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Neighbors and friends, excuse me please while I grumble a bit.
I have three main concerns about comments on the blog.
Posting in a thread using multiple names (aka Sockpuppetry). This is a real peeve of mine that I have mentioned here and there before in comments. I don’t like it when a user posts multiple comments under one post using multiple names. One comment might say, “Joe Smith is a great candidate.” The next might say, “Other candidates like Bob Brown don’t have the experience necessary.” And while they are posted using different screen names, they come from the same person.
I ask that in the comments to a post you pick one screen name and stick with it. You are able to leave 20 comments or more under a post, but it is reasonable that the rest of us know that it is one person leaving those 20 comments, not 20 people.
- Plain ol’ meanness. Political and policy disagreements are to be expected, but let’s be civil about it. I simply don’t like it when this blog gives one person the venue to call another an idiot, a moron, what-have-you.
People are passionate about political campaigns that are heating up, and I understand that. However that is not a license to be mean.
- Unfounded and/or irrelevant allegations. The comments section here is not the place to ask if so-and-so had an affair or ever got over the drinking problem. Well-meaning folks may be trying to get to the bottom of a traveling rumor, perhaps to put it to rest. But it’s just as easy for someone malicious to start such a rumor by posting a comment like that.
Sometimes people are trying to find out more about a situation and have emailed me to ask if I have heard anything. I am willing to share what I know, and that is nicer than jump-starting a rumor that may not be true by posting it in the comments section.
Several readers have suggested that it is time to require readers to register with a valid email address before they may comment. For now, I prefer not to do that. I invite you to make the case for or against that in the comments section below.
I like for the Political Parlor - including the comments - to inform, illuminate, challenge, amuse… to bring out the best in us, not the worst. I learn a lot here and am grateful for that opportunity. I hope this really will be more like a political parlor and less like a middle school lunchroom table.
If you are unable to be mindful of the three concerns above, you may find that your attempts to post comments will go into a moderation queue to be approved (or not) before they are posted.
Most folks here could not be more pleasant. But with campaign passions and readership both on the rise, I feel like the atmosphere in the comments was beginning a slow, downward spiral that I wanted to intercept.
If you feel like you are somehow being stifled and that I am trying to create an environment that does not appeal to you, then feel free to start your own blog. I’ll even help you if I can.
And if you feel like any of this is unreasonable, I’m glad to hear that too.
As I said, I was feeling grumble-y. Carry on.
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The Top Posts page has been updated to show the Parlor’s posts that were viewed most often in March, based on the number of clicks on individual posts.
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Thicket is a new and good-looking magazine “that celebrates the good of Alabama: our people, our places, our history, and most importantly, our future.” Its second issue will be on newstands next week. I mention it not only because I thoroughly enjoyed the first issue with its Bob Riley cover story and much more, but also because this new issue will be publishing the Political Parlor’s list of the 40 Most Influential Non-Elected Alabamians.
Also… This week we were mentioned on a CBS News site that picked up a story by Politico.com. The Fix on the Washington Post site named our site in its post, “Best of the State Politics Blogs” this week. (An updated list is here.) The National Journal House Race Hotline (subscription only) - “the epitome of insider DC media,” according to one Parlor friend - cited the Political Parlor in its coverage of the AL-05 race. That’s four nice mentions this week by some good company, plus Thicket magazine next week. I always appreciate when anybody takes notice of what we are doing.
Readership is going up steadily also. I see with some amazement that we get more readers in two hours today than we did in all of April 2006 when the blog had been up four months. Much of that is due to folks who contribute greatly to the site’s flow of information about Alabama politics and policy - directly in the cases of the Daily News Digest, Legislative Dispatch, and the Small Town Political Gazette, and indirectly in the case of those who generously act as sources, sounding boards, idea people, and behind-the-scenes contributors.
Stay with us. You’ll find some things that you’ll like, others that you won’t, some things that you will find here first, and others that you won’t find anywhere else.
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The Political Parlor’s page of Top Posts has been updated to show the posts that were viewed most often in December, January, and February, based on the number of clicks on individual posts.
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I know many of you are enjoying our legislators who are guest-blogging here during the 2008 session. For those of you who aren’t taking advantage of the inside-the-statehouse peek at what’s going on, here’s a reminder that Sen. Rusty Glover (R - Mobile), Sen. Parker Griffith (D - Huntsville), Rep. Chris England (D - Tuscaloosa), and Rep. Cam Ward (R - Alabaster) are offering us their perspectives on the legislative sessions in Legislative Dispatch, available in the sidebar.
The front page sidebar shows a purple bar with a link to Legislative Dispatch and immediately under shows links to the last two titles posted so that regular readers may note when new posts are updated.
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The Political Parlor’s list of the Most Influential Non-elected Alabamians yet lives. With a great deal of help from highly caffeinated, sleep-deprived, political insiders of all stripes, the Parlor is pleased to present its list of the non-elected Alabamians who wield the most influence in the realm of state policy and politics.
Next week.
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I want to make sure that you know that we have had several posts from our guest-blogging legislators in the last week.
Click on “Legislative Dispatch” in the right sidebar to browse the posts. On the home page of the blog, the right sidebar also shows the titles of the most recent blog entries in Legislative Dispatch. (The titles are also clickable). This might help regular readers see at a glance when there is a new post.
I am very appreciative of busy legislators agreeing to take time during the week to give us a take on the legislative session from a participant’s point of view.
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We have two new posts yesterday in “Legislative Dispatch” (what we used to call “Posts from the Legislature”), one each from Sen. Rusty Glover and Rep. Cam Ward.
Regular visitors to the Parlor can see in the front page sidebar the titles of recent posts in “Legislative Dispatch.” This may allow you to see if there are new posts that you have not seen without actually have to click on Legislative Dispatch.
Also, when you are reading a page or a post in “Legislative Dispatch,” there are prominent links to take you to the Legislative Dispatch main page (in the Legislative Dispatch header) or bring you back to the front page (in the sidebar).
Your suggestions on how to make these things better are always welcome.
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I am pleased to announce that four legislators have agreed to be guest-bloggers here at the Political Parlor during the 2008 legislative session. Sen. Rusty Glover (R - Mobile), Sen. Parker Griffith (D - Huntsville), Rep. Chris England (D - Tuscaloosa), and Rep. Cam Ward (R - Alabaster) have agreed to offer their perspectives on the ins and outs of the legislative session this year.
Many readers know that Rep. Ward started blogging here during last year’s legislative session, and I very much look forward to reading the offerings of our new guests in Legislative Dispatch (the 2008 name for the section of the blog that was previously called Posts from the Legislature). Legislative Dispatch has a modestly improved new look also, if I say so myself.
I hope you will welcome our new bloggers warmly. I very much appreciate their willingness to give us an inside take on this year’s legislative session. Barring any glitches in getting our guests up to speed on the mechanics of posting, we should expect to hear from them next week, perhaps sooner.
The legislative session starts next week.
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The list of most influential non-elected Alabamians is slowly coming into shape. We have had a delay as someone from another quarter weighs in. I am glad for every good voice that helps the list be stronger, though I am ready to be finished especially since I expected to be through by now.
My guess is that with all that keeps us occupied this time of year no one besides myself could care less about the timing, but I mention it on the small chance that someone is waiting breathlessly and wondering where it is.
I believe it will be quite interesting. Easily over a dozen people from all walks of political life have shaped the list; elected officials, lobbyists, party folks, and other insiders have taken up the task with relish.
If it helps to tide us over, here is an initial of somone you can expect to see on the list: J.
Ok, maybe it doesn’t.
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If you are interested in what we were talking about last year, the Top Posts page has been updated (at the bottom) to show what posts in the Political Parlor were the most viewed for 2006.
If you want a longer stroll down memory lane, the archives page has links to all the Parlor’s past posts. The first time you click on the archives page, it may take several seconds to load, but it is quite fast to reload.
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Politicos of all stripes are working around the clock on the list of the Most Influential Non-elected Alabamians. (We’ve had to assign someone the job of making sure the coffee pot doesn’t get empty.) Elected officials, party employees, and other insiders are helping sort out the names… Perspiration and coffee spills are blurring some names and slowing the process…
Judging from the list of November’s most viewed posts, it’s a topic of great interest, and we should have it for you this week.
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The Top Posts page has been updated to show the Parlor’s posts that were viewed most often in November, based on the number of clicks on individual posts.
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(R) Jeff Sessions (1-19)
(D) Vivian Figures (33-1)
(D) Artur Davis (1-49)
(R) Mike Hubbard (13-1)
(?) David Bronner (OFF)