Sunday, December 18, 2005
The second blogiversary: The TigerHawk year in review
Amazingly, we have been working away at this blog for two years! Farookin' amazing.
I love blogging. I love reading blogs and writing posts on this one. As I wrote last year, blogging has been the foremost creative experience of my life. Some people draw, some people sing, some people make ornate little Japanese rock gardens and some people blog. I'm a blogger.
This blog has gotten a lot of attention -- by my low traffic standards -- since I wrote last year's blogiversary post. Average readership is up around ten times. We've gotten the attention of the leading lights of the blogosphere. Two new co-bloggers with new (to us) voices have sharped our edge. And we've all had fun, rantin' and ravin' and such.
As I did last year, I spent a couple of hours scrolling through my archives, reminding myself of all that I wrote and did in the past year. I've rolled up a small percentage of the more than 1000 posts we published in the last twelve months by category. Most of the regulars have at least seen many of these, but if you are new to TigerHawk you might enjoy digging around a bit.
Thank you for reading this far!
The war, including Iraq
The first false report that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi had been arrested came on January 4. We got another such report in June, and another in November.
Early in the year, Stratfor's George Friedman was bleak about our expanded mission in Iraq. He changed his tune a couple of months later.
On the Israeli flag as an instrument of torture.
The text-messaging war and the price of non-compliance: The importance of efficient coercion in counterinsurgency.
On the links between al Qaeda and the killing of Theo Van Gogh.
The power of her displeasure. One of Condi's earliest moments in her campaign against Arab autocracy. Then, in June, she gave her seminal speech in Cairo, the echoes of which the world will hear for many years. Finally, in September Secretary Rice spoke at Princeton. I was there, and covered the story.
I wrote a re-articulation of the democratization strategy, essentially building a "realist" case for the Bush/Rice policy.
What American would not take pride in this picture from the Cedar Revolution?
Syria's Assad: "Please send this message: I am not Saddam Hussein. I want to cooperate." Of course, the Iraq war was pointless because there we didn't find any stockpiles of WMD.
Parliaments at war: comparing the struggles of Iraq's new legislators with the Continental Congress.
I covered Michael Scott Doran's lecture on al Qaeda's grand strategy. Doran, a student of jihadi writings, explains the depth and historical significance of al Qaeda's ideology. Perhaps my most widely read post. (More on al Qaeda's deep philosophical roots here.)
The connection between Saudi Arabia's offensive against al Qaeda and the American invasion of Iraq.
I wrote about the relationship between the war between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs and al Qaeda. It is not what you may think.
We have been watching the negotiations within Iraq all year. Three months ago, we explored the growing fractures within the Iraqi insurgency in a post called "Interpreting the war on the Shiites."
All year, we have been talking about the importance of discrediting al Qaeda in Iraq. Here is an example of the progress that is being made in that regard. Also, is the terrorist diaspora from Iraq an example of attacking, or retreating?
In October, Lt. General David Patraeus, most recently of the Transition Command in Iraq, spoke at Princeton about the training of the Iraqi army. It was quite clear then, as now, that we are not hearing the whole story from the mainstream media.
In November, I updated and annotated Steven Den Beste's "strategic overview," which addresses the arguments in favor of war -- both the broad war and the Iraqi theater -- in one fairly lengthy outline. It was linked by Fark.com, among others, and was probably my single most read post of the year.
Other foreign policy
The dangers of the Taiwan security guarantee.
Did the United States come out against the expansion of the Security Council in exchange for China's support against North Korea?
I argued that China is not nearly the military threat that hawks believe.
Complaining about the New York Times
The Times spent a good part of the year studying each negative turn in the financial markets for evidence that the Bush administration was screwing up, and manipulating the data to decide that rallies were not rallies at all. The first example of the second phenomenon came on New Year's day, when the Times cut the fall rally in the stock market in half by lopping off its first week.
On its manipulation of of the passive voice and other concealment of the subjects of verbs to hide from the implications of its own arguments.
The New York Times first predicts that the U.S. dollar "has nowhere to go but down." The dollar has rallied strongly since.
Paul Krugman spoke to Princeton alumni in May, and TigerHawk was there. Krugman was at his thin-skinned best.
The Times reveals that it has no understanding of corporate tax.
Economics, business and law
With all the predictions early in the year that the U.S. dollar would tank, many are surprised that the dollar rallied strongly this year. A TigerHawk reader called it on January 14 after a visit to Whole Foods.
On the politics of the alternative minimum tax (the repeal of which would help Democrats and hurt Republicans, on average).
Believing as I do that most lawsuits are brought out of anger, rather than greed, I proposed a national "apology privilege." If people felt free to apologize or otherwise express contrition, our society would be better off and there would be less vexatious litigation. I even drafted the bill.
I took a look at the geopolitical implications of the Alberta oil sands, and suggested a good investment.
American politics
On the continuing relevance of political parties, Deaniac triumphalism notwithstanding.
Just wrong.
My fisking in March of one of the early lame attempts to rehabilitate Mary Mapes earned links from both LGF and Power Line, and turned into one of the most widely read TigerHawk posts of the year. Then, in November, I took apart the absurd article about Mapes in Vanity Fair.
The influence of lawyers and professors on the organizational weakness of the Democrats.
Remember the "filibuster" controversy of last spring and the kerfuffle over the "nuclear option"? There was a very entertaining protest at Princeton -- a group of lefties sponsored their own filibuster in front of the Frist Campus Center here. The TigerHawk original coverage is here and here. We generated a lot of discussion over our favorite compromise, which we called the "Nostalgia Option."
The official TigerHawk tax reform proposal, and my first sua sponte link from Instapundit.
I was appalled at the very idea that CEOs should be "statesmen."
Cardinalpark covered speeches by Bill Clinton and David Gergen.
On the fourth of July, I considered the "chickenhawk" slur and the anti-war movement's false individualism. And in this post I remembered that the Democrats have been complaining about American counterinsurgency in distant lands for a very long time. Finally, this post dissected the difference between legitimate and illegitimate dissent during war.
Ted Kennedy admitted that Senators who claim they voted for the war in Iraq because Bush "deceived" them -- the Cold Feet Democrats, as we call them here -- are being disingenuous. Heh.
I was not happy with the A.P.'s coverage of the death of Chief Justice Rehnquist.
In September, I went in to New York to see Christopher Hitchens debate George Galloway, in the "Grapple in the Apple." My blog coverage, which was one of my most widely-linked productions all year, is here.
Also in September, I defended Bill Frist against the accusation that his trust had traded on inside information. Quite the opposite -- he did HCA's other stockholders a favor.
In November, I was one of a small number of bloggers
Family and travels
It was a very Spaniel New Year's Eve!
The clueless father takes the saavy daughter to the stables.
I was Bellagio blogging in May.
In June I spent a week in South America on business. I did get some beautiful pictures during my free day in Rio, including the Christos walking on clouds.
We took our family vacation last summer to California. Here are some shots of Yosemite, which was absolutely beautiful. More here.
Blogging and TigerHawk milestones
In May, we added a co-blogger, Cardinalpark, who has been a great addition to the team. Here is his first post.
In November, Cassandra graciously agreed to guest-blog during my long trip to Asia. Her first post sympathized with John Kerry, and her second post considered "equine gaydar." We are hoping she makes it a permanent gig!
I support limited press shield law, but only if it protects an activity, rather than a status.
Charlottesvillain was way too optimistic about the Hawkeyes.
Cardinalpark stepped out of his usual gig toreview Cream, in concert.
I love blogging. I love reading blogs and writing posts on this one. As I wrote last year, blogging has been the foremost creative experience of my life. Some people draw, some people sing, some people make ornate little Japanese rock gardens and some people blog. I'm a blogger.
This blog has gotten a lot of attention -- by my low traffic standards -- since I wrote last year's blogiversary post. Average readership is up around ten times. We've gotten the attention of the leading lights of the blogosphere. Two new co-bloggers with new (to us) voices have sharped our edge. And we've all had fun, rantin' and ravin' and such.
As I did last year, I spent a couple of hours scrolling through my archives, reminding myself of all that I wrote and did in the past year. I've rolled up a small percentage of the more than 1000 posts we published in the last twelve months by category. Most of the regulars have at least seen many of these, but if you are new to TigerHawk you might enjoy digging around a bit.
Thank you for reading this far!
The war, including Iraq
The first false report that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi had been arrested came on January 4. We got another such report in June, and another in November.
Early in the year, Stratfor's George Friedman was bleak about our expanded mission in Iraq. He changed his tune a couple of months later.
On the Israeli flag as an instrument of torture.
The text-messaging war and the price of non-compliance: The importance of efficient coercion in counterinsurgency.
On the links between al Qaeda and the killing of Theo Van Gogh.
The power of her displeasure. One of Condi's earliest moments in her campaign against Arab autocracy. Then, in June, she gave her seminal speech in Cairo, the echoes of which the world will hear for many years. Finally, in September Secretary Rice spoke at Princeton. I was there, and covered the story.
I wrote a re-articulation of the democratization strategy, essentially building a "realist" case for the Bush/Rice policy.
What American would not take pride in this picture from the Cedar Revolution?
Syria's Assad: "Please send this message: I am not Saddam Hussein. I want to cooperate." Of course, the Iraq war was pointless because there we didn't find any stockpiles of WMD.
Parliaments at war: comparing the struggles of Iraq's new legislators with the Continental Congress.
I covered Michael Scott Doran's lecture on al Qaeda's grand strategy. Doran, a student of jihadi writings, explains the depth and historical significance of al Qaeda's ideology. Perhaps my most widely read post. (More on al Qaeda's deep philosophical roots here.)
The connection between Saudi Arabia's offensive against al Qaeda and the American invasion of Iraq.
I wrote about the relationship between the war between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs and al Qaeda. It is not what you may think.
We have been watching the negotiations within Iraq all year. Three months ago, we explored the growing fractures within the Iraqi insurgency in a post called "Interpreting the war on the Shiites."
All year, we have been talking about the importance of discrediting al Qaeda in Iraq. Here is an example of the progress that is being made in that regard. Also, is the terrorist diaspora from Iraq an example of attacking, or retreating?
In October, Lt. General David Patraeus, most recently of the Transition Command in Iraq, spoke at Princeton about the training of the Iraqi army. It was quite clear then, as now, that we are not hearing the whole story from the mainstream media.
In November, I updated and annotated Steven Den Beste's "strategic overview," which addresses the arguments in favor of war -- both the broad war and the Iraqi theater -- in one fairly lengthy outline. It was linked by Fark.com, among others, and was probably my single most read post of the year.
Other foreign policy
The dangers of the Taiwan security guarantee.
Did the United States come out against the expansion of the Security Council in exchange for China's support against North Korea?
I argued that China is not nearly the military threat that hawks believe.
Complaining about the New York Times
The Times spent a good part of the year studying each negative turn in the financial markets for evidence that the Bush administration was screwing up, and manipulating the data to decide that rallies were not rallies at all. The first example of the second phenomenon came on New Year's day, when the Times cut the fall rally in the stock market in half by lopping off its first week.
On its manipulation of of the passive voice and other concealment of the subjects of verbs to hide from the implications of its own arguments.
The New York Times first predicts that the U.S. dollar "has nowhere to go but down." The dollar has rallied strongly since.
Paul Krugman spoke to Princeton alumni in May, and TigerHawk was there. Krugman was at his thin-skinned best.
The Times reveals that it has no understanding of corporate tax.
Economics, business and law
With all the predictions early in the year that the U.S. dollar would tank, many are surprised that the dollar rallied strongly this year. A TigerHawk reader called it on January 14 after a visit to Whole Foods.
On the politics of the alternative minimum tax (the repeal of which would help Democrats and hurt Republicans, on average).
Believing as I do that most lawsuits are brought out of anger, rather than greed, I proposed a national "apology privilege." If people felt free to apologize or otherwise express contrition, our society would be better off and there would be less vexatious litigation. I even drafted the bill.
I took a look at the geopolitical implications of the Alberta oil sands, and suggested a good investment.
American politics
On the continuing relevance of political parties, Deaniac triumphalism notwithstanding.
Just wrong.
My fisking in March of one of the early lame attempts to rehabilitate Mary Mapes earned links from both LGF and Power Line, and turned into one of the most widely read TigerHawk posts of the year. Then, in November, I took apart the absurd article about Mapes in Vanity Fair.
The influence of lawyers and professors on the organizational weakness of the Democrats.
Remember the "filibuster" controversy of last spring and the kerfuffle over the "nuclear option"? There was a very entertaining protest at Princeton -- a group of lefties sponsored their own filibuster in front of the Frist Campus Center here. The TigerHawk original coverage is here and here. We generated a lot of discussion over our favorite compromise, which we called the "Nostalgia Option."
The official TigerHawk tax reform proposal, and my first sua sponte link from Instapundit.
I was appalled at the very idea that CEOs should be "statesmen."
Cardinalpark covered speeches by Bill Clinton and David Gergen.
On the fourth of July, I considered the "chickenhawk" slur and the anti-war movement's false individualism. And in this post I remembered that the Democrats have been complaining about American counterinsurgency in distant lands for a very long time. Finally, this post dissected the difference between legitimate and illegitimate dissent during war.
Ted Kennedy admitted that Senators who claim they voted for the war in Iraq because Bush "deceived" them -- the Cold Feet Democrats, as we call them here -- are being disingenuous. Heh.
I was not happy with the A.P.'s coverage of the death of Chief Justice Rehnquist.
In September, I went in to New York to see Christopher Hitchens debate George Galloway, in the "Grapple in the Apple." My blog coverage, which was one of my most widely-linked productions all year, is here.
Also in September, I defended Bill Frist against the accusation that his trust had traded on inside information. Quite the opposite -- he did HCA's other stockholders a favor.
In November, I was one of a small number of bloggers
Family and travels
It was a very Spaniel New Year's Eve!
The clueless father takes the saavy daughter to the stables.
I was Bellagio blogging in May.
In June I spent a week in South America on business. I did get some beautiful pictures during my free day in Rio, including the Christos walking on clouds.
We took our family vacation last summer to California. Here are some shots of Yosemite, which was absolutely beautiful. More here.
Blogging and TigerHawk milestones
In May, we added a co-blogger, Cardinalpark, who has been a great addition to the team. Here is his first post.
In November, Cassandra graciously agreed to guest-blog during my long trip to Asia. Her first post sympathized with John Kerry, and her second post considered "equine gaydar." We are hoping she makes it a permanent gig!
I support limited press shield law, but only if it protects an activity, rather than a status.
Charlottesvillain was way too optimistic about the Hawkeyes.
Cardinalpark stepped out of his usual gig toreview Cream, in concert.
5 Comments:
By 
Cassandra, at
Mon Dec 19, 07:47:00 AM:
Time flies when you're having fun!
Two years of great reading - congratulations. Somehow from the first moment I landed here in my pre-dawn travels, I had a feeling you'd do well. I'm so happy to see you get the recognition you deserve.
By Gordon Smith, at
Mon Dec 19, 09:18:00 AM:
Tigerhawk,
Scrutiny Hooligans came into existence about six months after your debut, and your blog was the first on the right that we Hooligans found a kinship to. You're a level-headed thinker, and you're willing to go out on a limb for a good idea.
Thanks for putting up with me and for telling me a secret.
Cassandra, I hardly know ye, but you're complicated enough to warrant continued attention. Charlottesvillain, your banana may not always be second. And CardinalPark, you sure like blogging, though I wonder if you'd be better off gardening.
Happy Blogiversary, Tigerhawkers!
By Cardinalpark, at
Mon Dec 19, 09:28:00 AM:
By Cassandra, at
Mon Dec 19, 03:51:00 PM:
By Charlottesvillain, at
Mon Dec 19, 05:17:00 PM:
Congratulations TH. I'm glad you have found such a satisfying outlet to the impulses I know have ruled you since age 13. You were born for this gig. I'm sorry our little co-blogging venture on South American cocktails didn't make the round up, but whatever.
Thanks for the mention Screwie. Clearly my posts are of a different calibre than my co-bloggers, who I think do a superb job of covering the important stuff, which leaves me free to post on my own quirky interests.
Thanks for the forum TH. I have never taken it for granted I hope I have not detracted terribly from the thoughtful commentary that can usually be found here.
