- Al Jazeera
- AlterNet
- Angry Bear
- BBC World
- Brad DeLong
- Calculated Risk
- Corporate Crime Reporter
- Credit Writedowns
- Crossing Wall Street
- Danny Schecter
- Dean Baker
- Econbrowser
- Economic Outlook Group
- FactCheck.org
- Felix Salmon
- FiveThirtyEight (Nate Silver)
- Interfluidity
- Maureen Dowd
- Media Matters for America
- Mish
- Naked Capitalism
- Nouriel Roubini
- OpenSecrets Blog
- PolitiFact
- Pragmatic Capitalism
- Project Syndicate
- Real Clear Politics
- Republic Report
- Roosevelt Institute
- Salon
- Seeking Alpha
- Talking Points Memo
- The Big Picture (Barry Ritholtz)
- The Business Insider
- The Reformed Broker (Josh Brown)
- Truthdig
- VoteVets.org
- December 2023
- January 2023
- December 2021
- December 2020
- December 2019
- December 2018
- December 2017
- September 2017
- December 2016
- September 2016
- March 2016
- October 2015
- July 2015
- January 2015
- May 2014
- February 2014
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
Tip Jar
Stock Market
Blogroll
Archives
About TheCenterLane.com
TheCenterLane.com offers opinion, news and commentary on politics, the economy, finance and other random events that either find their way into the news or are ignored by the news reporting business. As the name suggests, our focus will be on what seems to be happening in The Center Lane of American politics and what the view from the Center reveals about the events in the left and right lanes. Your Host, John T. Burke, Jr., earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston College with a double major in Speech Communications and Philosophy. He earned his law degree (Juris Doctor) from the Illinois Institute of Technology / Chicago-Kent College of Law.
© 2024 TheCenterLane.com
proSlate Theme by Pro WP Themes
Where’s Mine?
April 13, 2009
Lately, I’ve been receiving blog comments wherein the writers tell their hard luck stories about the current recession. My skeptical nature leads me to suspect these stories are fake and in fact, they may be the most recent incarnation of the Nigerian e-mail scam. Rather than spamming large numbers of people with e-mails, the perpetrator simply posts a “comment” to a blog, telling a tale of woe and including an e-mail address. The con artist then waits for generous people to start dumping money into his or her PayPal account (since the recipient’s e-mail address is all that is necessary to send funds). With the economy in shambles, there are plenty of prosperous individuals who feel downright guilty about basking in good fortune while so many are suffering. Human nature being what it is, many characters have sensed that the time is right to “put the touch on” those with bleeding hearts.
The other day, I received an e-mail from my brother, Mike. It contained a link to a story in Advertising Age about how publishers of the more liberal-oriented blogs are pressuring liberal activist groups to advertise on those websites. The article began with a quote from Greg Sargent of The Plum Line:
Sargent’s piece included complaints from liberal bloggers who feel stiffed by the left-wing organizations they support with favorable postings:
The Ad Age article, by Ken Wheaton, contained a link to a posting by John Cook of Gawker, entitled: “Left Wing Blogs Try on Extortion as a Business Model”. Cook explained why it would not make sense for progressive activist groups to advertise on blogs whose readership already may contribute to those groups without seeing an ad reminding them to do so:
Ken Wheaton voiced similar logic in the Ad Age article:
This is exactly why these liberal groups should start advertising with me on TheCenterLane.com. This is a centrist blog, attracting readers from across the entire political spectrum. If you want to reach those people, this is the place to do it. Additionally, these groups should publicize and speak highly of TheCenterLane.com as much as possible in order to draw more views to their ads appearing on this blog. This website would be a good place for conservatives to advertise, as well. However, conservatives are by their very nature, uh … tight with money and as a result, they would probably be less willing to part with it in order to advertise on a large number of blogs. Nevertheless, the invitation remains open.
Just think about it: What good has the DailyKos blog ever done for the Democrats? They promoted that inane rumor that Bristol Palin was the “real” mother of Trig. Everyone knows that Down syndrome is a risk arising from pregnancy during the mid to late forties. The idea that Bristol was the mother rather than Sarah, was just plain stupid. On the other hand, if the Democratic Party were to advertise on my website, I could start a rumor that Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston are going to make a porno together. Now that’s a story with LEGS (in every sense)!
So get with it, Democrats and Republicans! If you want some really vile rumors about your opponents (and their family members) to start spreading through the blogosphere, advertise here!