Don't blame me Perry. I think I said something more like it was when Samizdata "lost" a few of my submitted posts in the inbox filter that I was inspired to start my own blog. You also very graciously choose not to mention that of the 30% not published, most were probably written under the influence or were just crap.

Something for which I am very grateful and I have always appreciated your help and advice.

I make our differences to be only 4%. But I was right about Iraq and you'll probably be proved right about party politics.

Just so long as our guns point at our enemies...

Your complaints are with Guido

And I didn't say you were a corporate shill, I said the average neocon was, which is unarguable.

"Neoconservative" is arguably the most misunderstood and erroneously-used term in opinion writing these days.

If Appleyard thinks Samizdata is a neoconservative forum, then I'm afraid he falls into that camp of the undiscerning turn-of-phrase.

Perry, his first ten words are completely accurate, so he's not ALL wrong! Though I do think that calling Samizdata a neo-con, and then saying that the average neocon is a corporate shill, does leave the impression that Samizdata falls into the class of the corporate shill. If he didn't mean that, then the sentence needs to be rephrased so as to remove that impression.
Whilst 'Libertarian' is just one of the groups in Samizdata, a general definition might be 'Decentralists'. Can anyone think of a better term?

It's interesting that nobody ever seems to remember Paul Staines' failed one-man 'free-market NGO', Global Growth Org. Okay, that's probably because it was such a complete non-event, but I wonder whether he has become so venomously cynical about politics because his earlier oh-so-earnest attempts at good old-fashioned political campaigning so abjectly failed?

Handbags at dawn! And shame that you rose to Appleyard's rather petty side-swipe at Samizdata - it gives it more credibility than it would otherwise have had.

I love seeing Appleyard articles in the Sunday Times - because I know that I can skip over them without the sense of guilt that by doing so I might something important, intersting or insightful. It cuts at least five minutes off the time required to read the ST.

Sadly, Bryan Appleyard gets it wrong a good deal, which for a fairly well-paid columnist ain't good enough.

Very well put, Perry. Sadly, I've resigned myself to being called a neocon - not that I am one, more that it seems to be the big government shills' current pejorative term of choice. Something about water and a duck's back comes to mind.

ChrisR:

shame that you rose to Appleyard's rather petty side-swipe at Samizdata - it gives it more credibility than it would otherwise have had

Can anyone think of a better term?

Unmutual?

James is right. Sometimes if a journalist like Appleyard writes an article riddled with errors, you have to point those out, take the offending journalist and administer the equivalent of naval keel-hauling. It was a sloppy article and Perry was right to be pissed off. I see Bryan, in the comments, made no sign whatever of showing contrition.

No wonder so many people take a dim view of journalists these days.

Neo-cons are just New Deal democrats, that is to say left-wingers who don't have a psychotic desire to bring down western civilization. I can think of far worse things to be (like Bryan Appleyard), but, no, Samizdata certainly isn't a neo-con site.

"Sadly, Bryan Appleyard gets it wrong a good deal, which for a fairly well-paid columnist ain't good enough."

Really? It would seem to be me to be practically mandatory amongst any columnist, well-paid or not. The advantage of Appleyard is not his accuracy but his versatility. It can be politics one week, celebrity culture the next and Star-Trek mythology the week after that. Like a professional media artisan, no topic is beyond him!

Your complaints are with Guido.

Let me see if understand this correctly: Appleyard isn't responsible for any factual errors, including labelling Samizdata a neo-con blog, because he was only repeating what Guido told him.

In my book that's either gullibility or laziness. Or perhaps both.

Yeah and blaming Guido is exactly impressive either Jon. Brian's facts were shoddy and he should apologise. (His comments on neo-cons come across as daft and a bit suspect.)

The difference between Perry & Guido is more the difference between the "pissing in" and "pissing out" of the tent (hat tip LBJ) type of libertarians. This a constant theme between libertarians and one that shows no sign of going away. Ironically I have gone from one of those to the other in recent years.

And I didn't say you were a corporate shill, I said the average neocon was, which is unarguable.

And I hear Bryan Appleyard has not beaten his wife for the last few months.

I didn't say you were a wife beater, Bryan.

In truth I assume you are indeed not a wife beater, but the implication is crystal clear and as a professional journalist you must be able to see that. Given this blog's consistent bashing of companies willing to take the Devil's Shilling, I think Perry's rebuttal was a marvel of restraint.

The only labels I will accept are the ones I stick on myself.
So I am an absurdist and artistic Micturist.

I am not a Libertarian, or even 'right wing' i love this websites comitment to personal freedom.

I find it very refreshing and unlike many blogs the comments section is always full of reasonable debate and not just personal attacks* about what he/she may have said on another thread (see Harrys place).

I don't thnk the site is corporate in any way, and as for neo con some supported action some didn't.

Samizdata even if i don't agree with you some/most of the time i salute you!

Alex

*well since verity stopped posting

Just as Neo-conservative gives us 'Neocon', so 'Decentralist' gives us 'Decent'. We are the only Decent side in politics, after all.
To every decent commenter, G'Day!

Calling Samizdata neocon is idiotic. I don't know squat about Appleyard, but his phrasing strikes me as the usual "you supported toppling Saddam so you are a neocon" insult. The fact that a) not all Samizdatas agreed, and b) the ones that did had very non-neocon reasons, seems to escape Appleyard.

Hey, Bryan--take note: enjoying the demise of vicious tyrants does not make one a neocon.

Not up to your usual standard, Bryan

He has a usual standard?? News to me....

Yes, to some the desire to see genocidal maniacs toppled is neo-con. Good to see journalists are not participating in spreading simplistic euphemisms.