I find this TPM post very disturbing:
No, not the Pelosi story—that's pretty much a tempest in a teapot. I'm talking about Josh Marshall, one of the best known and most widely read political bloggers (read so widely that newspaper columnists occasionally quote him accidentally) who feels the need to explain why he's been "out of the office" and "offline" all day. Apparently it's such an unusual occurrance that it has discombobulated him to some degree.
Recently Josh took a vacation, the first in about a decade, I recall him saying at the time. He was worried about how he'd deal with the off-time.
I'm more worried about how those we read for commentary on world events are getting increasingly insulated from the lives of ordinary people, who think nothing of going to a graduation and missing breaking news on some minor political scandal.
I like Josh Marshall, I really do. I read him almost every day. But I wish he'd get out more, not less. I wish he'd spend some time among people who aren't so enthralled by partisan battles, in order to get some perspective. We all need a reality check occasionally. I know when I've been spending too much time on the Internet I am often surprised when the real people who populate my daily life aren't as upset about some big to-do as I have become. This is when I appreciate my nieces' Facebook updates, which are usually along the lines of "BORED at work!"
See? The kids are alright. No tempest, only boredom. Somehow I think civilization will survive that.
