Althouse: A profile.

June 5, 2007

A profile.

Politico did this profile of me.

42 comments:

Brian Doyle said...: Ann on Ann: Moderate, authentic, and blunder-free.

Pretty favorable profile, I'd say!; 6/5/07, 12:40 PM
John Kindley said...: I'd say Althouse v. Reason was a bigger dust-up and much more interesting and entertaining, both substantively and procedurally.; 6/5/07, 1:04 PM
Ann Althouse said...: John: Yeah, I wished I'd thought of that instead. Glad you enjoyed it!; 6/5/07, 1:07 PM
Ruth Anne Adams said...: "...I’ve always said what I thought at the time, so I won’t admit to any blunders.”

Just like [ominous chord] Bush!; 6/5/07, 1:57 PM
Michael said...: And apparently Valenti's already seen your Politico profile and is worked up about it -

http://feministing.com/archives/007128.html

Sheesh.; 6/5/07, 2:08 PM
Kirby Olson said...: I liked this, and liked going back to read the Kerry piece. Kerry is the first Democrat that I couldn't bring myself to vote for in over thirty years. To me it was the hunting jacket, and the wind surfing, as well as the Swift Boat guys coming back with video footage of Kerry against the war in Vietnam. And finally it was his huge houses. For some reason his hair was genuinely disturbing to me, but I think that after there is enough negativity everything about a person can be problematic: his Stentorian style, his passive sentences, the way he threw a football, the bags under his eyes, his almost total lack of a sense of humor. Geez. They really had to choose an absolute loon to lose my vote. And now just thinking about that party gives me hives because I associate it with Kerry.

And I didn't then hear about you until Michael Beezlebub linked to you about the breasts.

I like how you take incredibly strong nuanced unpopular stances.

You should be on the Supreme Court. You could blog while the decisions were being formulated!; 6/5/07, 2:13 PM
Bissage said...: I thought the profile good but bland.

You're far more interesting than that.

No matter. The curious who read the profile will soon discover this for themselves.; 6/5/07, 2:26 PM
dave™© said...: Wow! A brownshirt site saying nice things about a brownshirt site!

I believe the term we're looking for is "circle jerk"...; 6/5/07, 2:27 PM
eelpout said...: And apparently Valenti's already seen your Politico profile and is worked up about it -

Hey, it's not Ann's problem if Jessica looks like Monica Lewinsky [to Ann], and appeared to be arching her back [to Ann], and sticking her breasts out [at Ann].

Some people. But I know a flawless diamond when I see one.; 6/5/07, 2:33 PM
Bissage said...: And some of the incurious, who visit regularly, know it already.

And it fills them with mindless rage.; 6/5/07, 2:35 PM
Michael said...: Naked Lunch:

My point was to post the link; I tend to agree with Ann's perspective on the photo arrangement. It's just amusing to me that Valenti's still so worked up as to put that post up.; 6/5/07, 2:44 PM
Brian Doyle said...: Ann's "perspective" on the photo arrangement?

You make it sound so classy!; 6/5/07, 2:50 PM
eelpout said...: Mr. Lee:
I always found it a bit curious how the blogger world reacted after Ann "broke" this story. It's almost like Ann's readers, and most of righty bloggers looked at the photo again [after missing it the first time] and said "YES! she *does* look just like Monica, and I'll be damn if she isn't pointing them breasts right at The Clenis!

*hand smack to the forehead*

DUH!; 6/5/07, 2:59 PM
I'm Full of Soup said...: Naked Lunch claimed:

"everyone or most thought she *does* look just like Monica, and I'll be damn if she isn't pointing them breasts right at The Clenis! "

I don't think hardly anyone saw a Monica resemblance (paying you a compliment here Jessica).

We were just pointing out that a female blogger of such little note and few aaccomplshments was pointing out at the Clinton powwow.; 6/5/07, 3:14 PM
The Pretentious Ignoramus said...: I found the profile rather anodyne. And credit must be deducted for the failure to refer to certain of your most erudite commenters.; 6/5/07, 3:15 PM
Peter Hoh said...: Ann, we both arrived in the Midwest the same year, but I went back to New Jersey before coming back to the Midwest to stay.

Sort of like I was for it before I was against it. Or something like that.

I see that on Politico, the first commenter blames you for re-electing Bush in '04. Seems to me that Kerry and the nominating process should get some of the love for that, too.; 6/5/07, 3:31 PM
Brian Doyle said...: We were just pointing out that a female blogger of such little note and few aaccomplshments was pointing out at the Clinton powwow.

F---ing gross.; 6/5/07, 3:44 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Oh, I don't think Valenti is actually "worked up" about it. I think she just sees this as another opportunity to promote herself -- which is what she was doing in the original photograph.

I have never noticed her to have written one interesting thing about anything. From what I've seen of it, her book is a lot of swear words, big margins, and bland assertions that feminism is cool and young girls need to be feminists.

But I wish I'd served up something else for the "biggest dustup" question, because I'm really tired of her trying to leverage popularity from me. She's not an interesting thinker, and I'm sorry I've made her seem somewhat interesting.; 6/5/07, 4:13 PM
Beth said...: To me it was the hunting jacket, and the wind surfing, as well as the Swift Boat guys coming back with video footage of Kerry against the war in Vietnam. And finally it was his huge houses. For some reason his hair was genuinely disturbing to me,

Finally, proof the Bush crossover voters were moved by substance, and not silly concerns like, oh, policy.; 6/5/07, 4:14 PM
Unknown said...: "Oh, I don't think Valenti is actually "worked up" about it. I think she just sees this as another opportunity to promote herself "

Sheesh, what an attention whore. Next she'll try to get profiled on the Politico.; 6/5/07, 4:23 PM
An Edjamikated Redneck said...: The problem Beth is that this was the only substance we had- Kerry had no policy.; 6/5/07, 4:25 PM
vrse said...: "I'm really tired of her trying to leverage popularity from me."

Annie, You're so bitter!!! Neither Valenti nor Greenwald "deserve your respect." It must burn from the inside that Greenwald has a NYT bestseller (and another one on the way) and Valenti, well, most feminists would align themselves with her than with you. You're quite lonely, in fact, irrelevant to any cause other than yourself, and it shows.

I'm sorry the NYT's gig didn't work out. But chill out, your bitterness shows!; 6/5/07, 4:34 PM
Peter Hoh said...: VRS, how exactly is a guest columnist role supposed to work out?; 6/5/07, 4:54 PM
marklewin said...: Biggest blunder: None, says Althouse, who believes bloggers can’t blunder by definition. “I think blogging is about saying what you think at the time, and so all of your posts stand as what you thought then. And if you’re really committed to blogging, you live by that. And you can change your mind later and post a new post, but that doesn’t make the previous one a blunder. ... I’ve always said what I thought at the time, so I won’t admit to any blunders.”

Interesting thought. I am not a blogger, but I have a different view of blunder's at least with respect to my work:

If I am getting the gist of what you are saying here, you liken blogging to taking pictures. Your blogs are veridical snapshots of your experience of yourself and the world around you in the moment.

You are suggesting that by honestly and openly expressing yourself, in the moment, you cannot blunder. Would it suggest that you might consider disingenousness in a post to represent a blunder? (I am not suggesting that you have not been genuine in any of your posts, however). I would be interested in how you arrived at the observation you shared at politico. Do you think that your experience as a teacher shaped your views?

At any rate, I have made mistakes in my work when I have been both open and honest in my knowledge and experience and shared that genuine experience with someone. However, at times, despite my best efforts, my knowledge or experience has been incomplete or misguided and has had negative or hurtful consequences for me and others. I tend to distinguish between 'honest' mistakes and mistakes due to incompetence, deceit, insecurity, laziness, impulsivity, not being thorough, etc. Honest mistakes are when I did my absolute best, honestly shared what I knew, yet nonetheless, fell short.

With greater experience at my work, I find my improvements are often due less to the expansion of information or facts that I may have on hand, and more about gaining greater clarity about my limitations and what I do not know. Its cool when I gain new information and at the same time come to a greater appreciation of just how dumb I have been.; 6/5/07, 5:20 PM
Kirby Olson said...: The problem Beth is that this was the only substance we had- Kerry had no policy.

-- Exactly. The Democratic party is just a matriarchal lynch mob. Principles are patriarchal, so the Democrats are just anarchists going after anybody with principles. That's their only remaining principle.

It's the riots of the sixties come full circle. Destroy all principles on principle in the name of ... the Grand Anarch?; 6/5/07, 5:28 PM
J. Cricket said...: I'm really tired of her trying to leverage popularity from me

Oh! The A-House uglies are out tonight!!; 6/5/07, 6:05 PM
Andrew said...: Congratulations. Politico is the best political news source out there. I find your statement about blunders the most interesting.; 6/5/07, 8:32 PM
AlphaLiberal said...: Still dumping on Jessica Valenti? Hey, she's got breasts. Deal with it.

http://feministing.com/archives/007128.html

But whose on Colbert Report tonight, Ann? Hmmmmm....? Jessica Valenti wins!; 6/5/07, 10:44 PM
Fen said...: My favorite part of that dust up was Valenti-defenders insisting that Clinton groping Wiley's breasts was not sexual assault.

3rd wave feminism. You've come a long way baby!; 6/6/07, 12:39 AM
Beau said...: 'I'm really tired of her trying to leverage popularity from me. She's not an interesting thinker, and I'm sorry I've made her seem somewhat interesting.'

I never know if you're taking the mickey of your readers with these kind of comments or if you're really serious and clutching your pearls.; 6/6/07, 1:59 AM
American Liberal Elite said...: A tempest in a D cup.; 6/6/07, 6:57 AM
AlphaLiberal said...: ha ha. good one.; 6/6/07, 8:58 AM
Ann Althouse said...: Torn ligament: Get a grip on your metaphors.; 6/6/07, 9:06 AM
Simon said...: AlphaLiberal said...
"But whose [sic.] on Colbert Report tonight, Ann?"

If it was Valenti, I'd say Ann wins this round on points...; 6/6/07, 11:17 AM
Ann Althouse said...: I wasn't going to watch, but I did. I'm contemplating doing a post about the amazing incoherence of her feminism, but I don't want everyone saying that I'm obsessed with her, when really I'm sick of promoting her, as I said I was in the original "closer look" post. But they say it anyway, so maybe I should at long last slam her without pulling my punches, as I have always done. You know, I've been trying to be nice, and where has it got me?; 6/6/07, 4:47 PM
marklewin said...: Professor Althouse wrote:

....so maybe I should at long last slam her without pulling my punches, as I have always done.

Even with my limited familiarity with this blog and knowing even less about the above issues, I would bet money that Ms. Althouse will eventually experience herself as having little choice but to act out as presaged by her following rationalization:

"You know, I've been trying to be nice, and where has it got me?"

If I were to offer any advice to Ms. Althouse (and no one is asking) I would suggest being careful when it comes to acting out publically and consider other options.; 6/6/07, 5:53 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Wooooo.; 6/6/07, 6:05 PM
marklewin said...: Professor Althouse said...
Wooooo.

Just a thought. Rather than 'slamming' Ms. Valenti online, what about writing a book that presents your conceptualization of feminism and why it is superior to the feminism of others? It seems to me that you feel strongly about it, have considerable knowledge on the subject, and have alot to say. Maybe a response to Ms. Valenti can be the impetus.; 6/6/07, 7:08 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Mindsteps, she's not an interesting opponent. I've never seen one thing that she's said that had any substance or depth to it. It's a big bore. I write all the time, but for me the key is: what interests me. It's not interesting! So she supports the Democratic party platform and likes the term "feminism"? So she tries to be pretty and wants to make money telling other girls they shouldn't have to be pretty? Please.; 6/6/07, 7:17 PM
marklewin said...: Ann Althouse said...
....So she supports the Democratic party platform and likes the term "feminism"? So she tries to be pretty and wants to make money telling other girls they shouldn't have to be pretty? Please.

So she's a phoney, and a superficial uninteresting one at that. You've made this clear on more than one occasion. So why not move on to bigger and better things?; 6/6/07, 7:34 PM
marklewin said...: I'll add this. TBF (I think I just made that up....it means...To Be Frank...pretty stupid huh...) I viewed Valenti's interview with Colbert online because of your intense reactions to her. I know nothing about feminism, however the interview did not move me at all. Her comments were mundane, unoriginal, and had no spark. In fact, she left no impression on me and I would be even less inclined to read her book after her encounter with Colbert. However, your reaction to her seems so powerful that I wondered what all the fuss was about. If she emanated any light and heat, it seems to me, it appears to be mostly reflected light, some of it originating with you.; 6/6/07, 8:19 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Thanks, Mindsteps. As you can imagine, and as I've said from day 1, I'm sorry that I allowed myself to promote her.; 6/6/07, 8:41 PM