January 14, 2019

The Althouse Bloggiversary: Today marks 15 years of blogging (and without a single missed day).

I'm delighted to be still here, a blogger on Planet Earth, where I wake up every day able and genuinely excited to write a few more sentences. It's a strange way of life, but it's what I do.

Thanks to all of you who stop by to read and to get whatever value you might find here, including the chance to write a few sentences of your own.

And thanks especially to Meade, who's been with me 2/3 of the way through these 15 years.

178 comments:

Guimo said...

You go, girl!

DocTeach said...

Thank you. You have been a big part of my internet experience.

Phil 314 said...

Congrats. I don’t know how you do it but please keep doing it.

Biotrekker said...

Congratulations! I have really enjoyed your blog!

John henry said...

I've been here for almost all of it.

Enjoyed it all.

Congratulations!

John Henry

America’s Politico said...

Professor Althouse:

Congrats! You are the best academic & journalistic blogger. I hope someday you get to write Op-ED in NYT (regular contributor) or be part of the WHCA as a reporter in the WH Press Room.

Perhaps, you will get your chance during the next Administration led by POTUS Warren and VPOTUS Klobuchar or Harris or Booker.

Cheers!

tim maguire said...

Congratulations! And thank you for all these years of sharing your world with us. I'm not sure when I found your blog, but it was probably at least 14 years ago. At the time, I read so many blogs it was hard to keep track of them all. Today I read 2. Some because I lost interest, but most because they stopped blogging. The next blog to retire will radically change my online habits.

I know of no other blogger active today who does neutral textual analysis. As someone who likes to think he embraces ideas, not people or sides, I find this blog unique and vital to my digestion of politics and current events.

tim maguire said...

Rajkumar Raosinhji said...
Professor Althouse:

Congrats! You are the best academic & journalistic blogger. I hope someday you get to write Op-ED in NYT (regular contributor) or be part of the WHCA as a reporter in the WH Press Room.

Perhaps, you will get your chance during the next Administration led by POTUS Warren and VPOTUS Klobuchar or Harris or Booker.


Clever backhanded blessing. "I hope these things happen for you...never!"

Shouting Thomas said...

Congratulations, Althouse.

You're a pioneer.

Unfortunately, the blog thing died. A few big winners survive, but all the mid sized and small stuff moved to Facebook.

I can remember when I read 15 blogs seriously every day.

I wish there was a market for something other than political argument and daily outrage... but there isn't.

Well, with the exception of porn.

rehajm said...

Happy Birthday Blog! You don’t look a day over twelve...

Ann Althouse said...

I have written op-eds and it's not my thing. I do not seek that kind of employment or any other sort of job. I like being jobless and self-supporting and to have no one to try to please. It's writing for the sake of writing. My old slogan still applies: To live freely in writing.

Ralph L said...

I find this blog unique and vital to my digestion of politics and current events.

What? Not "very unique?"

She's insoluble fiber, we're a bunch of bacteria.

John said...

I have enjoyed every day, congratulations!

brylun said...

Congratulations for invariably providing one of the most interesting sites on the web!

HoodlumDoodlum said...

Congratulations! Thanks for having us.

Tom from Virginia said...

Thank you Ann. You a treasure.

Karen of Texas said...

I found you early on during the Walker protests. One of my best google search returned results ever. Thank you for doing what you do.

Congratulations on your Crystal Blogversary. May you blog through Silver - and beyond.

iowan2 said...

Happy Anniversary. Best blog out there. Words are your thing. You use current events as your canvas to explore and create. I get the grins when when people think you live in the right side of the political spectrum. Not being, hair on fire leftist, gets you branded as a wing nut from the Right.
Keep writing for you own fulfillment, and thanks for allowing me along your journey.

mockturtle said...

Thank you, thank you, thank you! As Ralph Kramden would say, 'Baby, you're the greatest!'

BamaBadgOR said...

My favorite blog. Nothing else like it. I look forward to reading it every day. Congratulations on a very impressive feat.

Lash LaRue said...

Congratulations! I enjoy spending time with you each day.

Tommy Duncan said...

Truth is a beneficiary of your blog. Thank you for your insight, clear thought, discipline and persistence. Those are rare commodities in a superficial world.

Nancy said...

I have enjoyed reading you for 15 years and I look forward to the next 15. Congratulations!

tim maguire said...

Ralph L said...
I find this blog unique and vital to my digestion of politics and current events.

What? Not "very unique?"


What's your problem with "unique and vital"? You do know they are different words with different meanings, don't you? (And while we're at it, objecting to "very unique" is both dishonest and half-assed pedantry. You are criticizing me for something we both know I didn't say, and "very unique" is absolutely fine as a construction.)

Professional lady said...

Congratulations! Love your photos too.

Leland said...

Thank you for continuing to teach people. I learn new ways of thinking as I visit, and I can understand more viewpoints; even if I disagree with them.

Also happy that you and Meade are a great team.

David Begley said...

Ann’s streak is more impressive than Cal Ripken’s. Cal had the winters off and travel days.

rightguy said...

Thank you for all you do, Anne. Great stuff. Keep it coming.

(Now if we could get 3PT to just go away, we could all miss him.)

David Begley said...

Ann’s undergrad degree was a BFA. Her blog is a great work of art.

Eleanor said...

A search for "anyone who hates belonging to the teachers' union as much as I do" led me to Walker, which brought me to your blog. I don't believe for a second you're a conservative, but then neither am I. I'm just to the right of most of the idiots I'm surrounded by, like you are. But it is a pleasure to read your blog everyday. As someone who spent years teaching online, I know what a time sink it can be. Many more happy years of writing to you, and a long a happy life to you and Meade.

Ann Althouse said...

"I have enjoyed reading you for 15 years and I look forward to the next 15. Congratulations!"

I wonder how many people have been reading the blog for all 15 years?

I just said that out loud, and Meade said "I have."

Sally said...

Thank you and congratulations. I found you c. 2005 at the recommendation of the WSJ.

peacelovewoodstock said...

Congratulations, and thank you!

... a reader for almost 15 years

Unknown said...

I can't believe I've been reading your blog off and on for 14 years! I keeping thinking I should probably register and leave a comment, but have been far too lazy. I guess today is the day.

Thank you for your daily vignettes. And thank you to your commentators. They are an entertaining bunch even when - no, especially when - they are fighting.

CWJ said...

Congratulations. That level of commitment is quite an accomplishment. I still remember the first Althouse post that inspired me to comment.

Lloyd W. Robertson said...

Congratulations Ann. I was almost a day one reader--in those days I read Instapundit every day, and Glenn of course linked to you as you got started. In my mind you were part of the proliferation of blogs post-9/11. The fight against terrorism seemed like a new Cold War, but in some ways worse; the enemy might be hard to find. Many people now favoured the growth of the national security state--the kind of stuff that "liberals" used to oppose, but recently they have wanted to use against Trump. Are foreign policy issues now more important than domestic ones? George Washington warned that if the U.S. were to get involved in foreign countries, then Americans would disagree amongst themselves as to which countries, regimes, or "peoples" deserve support, and which don't. In other words, foreign policy issues would become divisive domestically. I know you are liberal on domestic issues, but I admire your independence. Not many people truly think for themselves. This makes you a great blogger. Kaus used to be pretty great on a number of things, including cars, but now it's pretty much all immigration.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

Bush, Obama, Walker - Althouse outlasts them all!

Jeff Brokaw said...

Well done, Althouse. I continue to be amazed by your unbroken string of publishing every day, up to 15 years now. Congrats on sticking with it, especially since as others note above, blogging's heyday was done when social media took over (yet another reason to dislike it, like we need more!)

Tank said...

Congrats Althouse. I remember when I commented that it must be hard to do this every day, and you replied it was not. It was pleasure. That's one reason it's so good. You are a unique talent.

gilbar said...

thanx Professor! and Thanx Meade!

66 said...

Thanks for a very enjoyable 15 years!

Anne in Rockwall, TX said...

I have been reading all fifteen years. Enjoy it always. Like many others, I was a lurker for a long time.

Congratulations on fifteen fabulous years and I hope there are many more to come. The really interesting parts have been seeing the changes in both you and the comment characters over all this time.

L'Chaim!

Krumhorn said...

I’m not certain when it was I found you, but it was pretty early. I’ve been a steady reader since. Three things about this place that are amazing:
* your unusually eclectic range of interests
* your remarkable perceptive balance....for a leftie
* your commenters, some of whom are enormously entertaining, educated, and smart
* ok 4. Laslo Spatula. I sure miss that guy.

- Krumhorn

Wilbur said...

Your commenters say it all for me. I'm an Althouse dittohead.

I appreciate the thought and effort which goes into this blog.

tim maguire said...

I just did a search for my first post and I wasn't able to identify it but discovered to my great excitement that I HAVE A TAG!!

I had no idea. Should I be excited? Well, I am.

Just asking questions (Jaq) said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...

I probably came her via Insty, IDK, I don’t remember much before the escalator descent into politics at Trump Tower, but I know I have been here a while before that. But I certainly came after the Meade marriage. My M.O. before this was to comment on blogs when the readership was small enough that your comments matter, then leaving them when they got so popular that my comments were drowned out.


(Now if we could get 3PT to just go away, we could all miss him.)

The ironic thing about him is that all of the bile he spews boils down to pearl clutching for the disrespect we are showing to the elites of this country by supporting Trump. He used to be anti-war, but who has been a better anti-war candidate than Trump? So he dropped the whole anti-war thing. Now he is just mortified by our lack of deference for our betters. If you read him that way, it’s kind of sad. His handle is even based on him being upset that Trump allegedly made a joke of paying hookers to pee on a bed where Obama is said to have slept. It really is sad.

Lyle Sanford, RMT said...

Congratulations!!!! Althouse has been a regular part of my day for a lot of those years. For me you're a real treasure - always there - always saying interesting things and helping me have a broader vision of the world - and some great pics along the way. Wishing you and Meade all the best.

MayBee said...

Happy Blogaversary!!! I haven't been reading for all 15 years, but I started reading probably not much after that-- via Insty. Then it took me a while to comment here.
Thanks for your dedication to being interesting!

J Severs said...

Keep up the good work!

Shane said...

Thank you, and to Meade.
Many more years of health and topical points of interest.

Barry Dauphin said...

Happy Blogaversary!

ALP said...

Has it been that long? I started my daily visits here about a year in - wow! This is probably the most long standing, stable comment group I've ever participated in. Thank you Ann and thank you Althouse community.

Curious George said...

Well aren't you something!

Seriously, first thing I do every morning is open your blog.

Congrats.

Just asking questions (Jaq) said...

What I like about this blog is the refusal to cater to the least common denominator. (Shouldn’t that be “most common denominator?)

Gulistan said...

Congrats. I've been around since pretty close to the beginning. Via Instapundit links, like a number of others. I've used your posts in my classes many times (Critical Thinking). There aren't many others like you out there. I hope you stick around for another 15.

Dave Begley said...

How in the world did Meade find Ann's blog 15 years ago?

My answer: It was divine Providence.

Henry said...

Thank you for keeping this forum alive. And happy birthday!

Darrell said...

Happy Ann-Iversary!!!

lohwoman said...

I came here from Insty. Back in the days when SippicanCottage used to comment on nearly every post.

Bob Boyd said...

Congratulations, Professor.
You never cease to enlighten, amaze, amuse and impress. I look forward to reading you, and the merry band of commenters you've collected, every day.

Thanks for doing what you do. There really is nothing else like it.

Lezer said...

Althouse is my all-time favorite blog (with half of the praise going to my favorite commenters). Thank you, Althouse.

Lezer/Kassaar

sinz52 said...

Congratulations and best wishes, Althouse.

Unlike other folks here, I'm a relative newcomer to this blog (last few years), but I truly appreciate your insights and your ability to deconstruct sophistry.

Ambrose said...

Congratulations. Here's to another 15.

Harold said...

Congrats, you and Lileks are my blog constants.

Darrell said...

I arrived here sometime in the first year. I had a Japanese pen pal and she was heading up a regional English program in Japan and she was going to attend a graduate course at U of W in Madison to hone her English skills--which were the best I ever saw already. All the Americans she met in Japan were Lefties and she told me that they were always insulting the US and she found herself disagreeing with many of the things they were telling her--but she did not wish to argue with them. I directed her to the Althouse Blog to expose her to some more right-wing thought, and so she could comment and practice her debating skills. She never commented. But she read your Blog every day and wrote me about it. Thank God this was in the Pre-Chuck Era. And others.

Thanks, Ann, for all you do EVERYDAY!

Ralph L said...

SippicanCottage used to comment on nearly every post

I'd still like to know why he deleted all his comments. He didn't seem obnoxious before that. Did he plan to run for office as a Republican? IIRC, he was one of the reasons I started reading the comments (and the blog itself) with any regularity.

Linda said...

Thanks for your daily writing. Can't remember exactly when I started following, but I know it was before the act 10 protests. Hope to see you out biking again this summer!

Sebastian said...

"To live freely in writing."

You have, mostly. But you are not as free as you could be. You have nothing to lose but your feminist chains.

@Begley: "Her blog is a great work of art."

True, and one of the most interesting of this century.

So, fellow commentators, what makes it great? I invite you to think about this deeply.

From Althouse we get a contrarian take on the passing scene, expressed in a recognizably distinctive style, that aestheticizes serious issues but also challenges the BS of public discourse, and invites a chorus of pleasantly deplorable responses, with a persistence and continuity that help to create a kind of immersive flow.

iowan2 said...

Not sure when I arrived. I was here for the courtship of our gracious host and Meade. Recognized Meade from earlier post, just don't know how much earlier. Like a lot of others, Insty was my link. My sporadic memory wants to think that he mentioned hitting the Althouse with an Instylanche. So I interpret that as fairly early in the life of the blog.

The Althouse and Meade courtship would make a Hallmark, or Lifetime, chick flick that crosses over. Filling in the supporting cast with commentors would add an eccentricity factor that is off the charts. This is starting to get fun.

Original Mike said...

You write 'em everyday, I read 'em everyday.
Thank you.

Ralph L said...

a Hallmark, or Lifetime, chick flick

I'm sure they've done it, but probably with a cat blogger or something.

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

Congrats Althouse.

If I had to guess, I'd say I discovered your "Theatre of Topicks" about 10 years ago.
So many great topics, so many great comments.

Thanks for all you do and best wishes for whatever the future holds.

Ann Althouse said...

"In my mind you were part of the proliferation of blogs post-9/11....."

I started more than 3 years after 9/11, but it was on 9/11 that I became fixated on reading Instapundit. It was crucial to escape from the hotbox of my immediate environment, where I heard America blamed even before the first building collapsed.

I really wish I had started blogging then, but I was hung up on originality and believed it was unoriginal — copying — to start a blog. Other people had gotten there first, and I thought somehow I needed an invitation from them before I could do it myself. It was only after a couple of my colleagues went ahead and started blogs that I had felt I had the equivalent of the invitation I needed — a sense that I'm being left behind by people who had no more of an invitation than I did.

I'm really a rather ridiculously timid person (in a strange mix with feeling confident and staunch about my own powers of observation and expression).

Ann Althouse said...

@David Begley Thanks!

rehajm said...

...and Meade said "I have."

Creepy stalker for the win!

Ann Althouse said...

"I'd still like to know why he deleted all his comments."

Various commenters have taken offense or had their pride wounded over the years, and they've made a show of leaving — I used to say "flounced off" — and then it's very hard for them to come back.

When you comment on someone else's posts, you may feel a loss of control that makes you susceptible to strong emotions. You want people to think your comments are great or you want to stir them up in your own way, but then there may be too much anxiety about getting the reaction you want, and when you don't get it, you might think I'm never going to comment again. That's the way I feel about commenting on other people's blogs (or Facebook posts).

This blog keeps me comfortable, because I'm free of the emotional whirlwind of commenterhood. I do write in the comments a lot, like now, but it's not the same thing as daring to write in somebody else's domain. It feels very casual to me, but I am aware of the intense feeling it can have for a commenter and I think some people respond by cutting themselves off. I understand that.

I don't mean any of the above to explain what really happened in the mind of any of the commenters who left. They all had their reasons, and they shut the door, so they can have their privacy.

Ron said...

I'm not sure, but I've been here since near the beginning also! Commenter Grognard!

Congrats, Bloggeress! :)

michaele said...

Your blog is a critical part of my morning. The only time it isn't one of the first things I click on is if I have a before noon doctor's appt. and then I save it to read in the waiting room. It is a main course and and a dessert and I always have an appetite for it. I am very grateful for Meade's behind the scenes contributions so Happy Bloggaversary to you both.

Rick said...

I've been here since the beginning. I commented regularly after comments began but stopped when the process first required registration. Only many years (and a job change) later was I comfortable enough to register and resume commenting.

MadisonMan said...

Congratulations (and belated Birthday wishes too).

I've been around for a while, but not from the beginning, I don't think. 15 years ago was too long ago to remember for sure though.

I wonder when someone will write a PhD thesis with the subject being this blog.

Original Mike said...

9/11 changed my worldview. I started reading Instapundit just days before 9/11. Not sure how I got there; Andrew Sullivan maybe? Then I got here through Instapundit.

I wonder if Glenn know all the lives he's touched. I suspect he does.

Lyle Smith said...

Congrats! You have created something that is very special.

Original Mike said...

I was a lurker for quite awhile. I signed up for commenting in order to reply to MadisonMan.

Francisco D said...

Congratulations Ann!

I found the site through Instapundit. Although I do not comment much any more, I still read many of the posts.

Today is also my 36th anniversary of quitting smoking. To paraphrase Mark Twain, it was the easiest thing I have ever done. I quit hundreds of times. For some reason it stuck in January 1983.

lohwoman said...

Sipp was not obnoxious. His comments were lucid and wonderful and frequently referenced song lyrics. As I remember it, he objected to the tone and crudeness of some other commenters.

MountainMan said...

Congratulations. Still here after almost 15 years. Like several others I was first directed here by Instapundit. What is impressive about your achievement is that you have pretty much done it all by yourself (with some input from Meade from time to time). The only other blogs I have followed this long and still read every day are Instapundit and Powerline. But those are group blogs so the work is spread around. You and I are are almost the same age so I hope you can keep it going as long as I am still around. This is still the first blog I read every day.

rcocean said...

Congratulations on 15 years.

I hope all your posts are backed up somewhere!

Rick said...

but it was on 9/11 that I became fixated on reading Instapundit. It was crucial to escape from the hotbox of my immediate environment, where I heard America blamed even before the first building collapsed.

This is why I'm always annoyed by left wingers who claim Bush squandered our national unity after 911. There was never any unity. The left had three stripes on this issue: those who openly blamed America, those who blamed America but wouldn't admit it either because of the public ramifications or because they believed in a more subtle approach, and those who rejected blaming America. While the last group had a reasonable following in the less political public among the institutional left it was by far the smallest. Columbia university started organizing "teach-ins" the next day to advocate the blame-America view.

JZ said...

I'm to blame, not you, but you contribute to my lazy habits. Thank you!

dreams said...

Althouse exists, abides and blogs.

dreams said...

Daily.

Oso Negro said...

Congratulations! It's quite an accomplishment and I don't doubt that a future historian will look to the record here as a window on the way Americans thought and expressed themselves in this era. I don't remember when I started reading, I know I got here through Instapundit. I didn't comment for a long time. I certainly recall the discussion of Obama's election so it has been at least that long. It's as good a commentariat as one will find in a public space.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Congrats and thank you.
I will make a point of shopping @ Bozo.

Ralph L said...

Sipp was not obnoxious. His comments were lucid and wonderful and frequently referenced song lyrics.

I agree, but he made a gaping hole in the Compendium of Althouse Comments, a future bestseller.

It took me almost a year online to comment anywhere, and I remember how upset I was when someone was rude to me.

bwebster said...

Been reading you for many years (at least pre-Meade), and you're one of the top three blogs I read multiple times a day. While I don't always agree with you, I very much appreciate your intellectual honesty and your willingness to call out politicians and the media (but I repeat myself) for their dishonesty.

chickelit said...

Here's a fun game for longtime commenters: See if you can find your very first comment. Here is mine. Mine was followed by such a profanity-laced reply by MadisonMan that Althouse had to delete it.

Just kidding, MM.

Art in LA said...

Wow, every single day. Incredible. Congrats! I can't remember how I discovered you, or what year. Links from Reason?

FWBuff said...

Congratulations, Professor! Thank you for your insight, your wide-ranging interests, your "cruel neutrality", but most of all thank you for your fierce advocacy for free speech! You have been a crucial part of my day every day for the last 13+ years. (I too came to you through Instapundit.)

And thanks to the commenting community. Althouse has built up a group who are unafraid to express themselves and who are unafraid to counter with more speech. We've all been sharpened (and maybe persuaded) by the discussion.

Well done, and please keep going!

Original Mike said...

"Here's a fun game for longtime commenters: See if you can find your very first comment."

I've considered doing that, but I don't need another project. It's likely to be quite a time sink.

chickelit said...

I've considered doing that, but I don't need another project. It's likely to be quite a time sink.

I googled up mine in a minute by using my handle, a key word or phrase: "then and now," the year, and then "site: althouse@blogspot.com" (without the equation marks). I guess the hard part is remembering a unique phrase or other context.

Ann Althouse said...

"but he made a gaping hole"

If you're ever curious about what's in the hole, just go to archive.org and paste in the URL.

Merny11 said...

Thanks Ann, and Meade you too. I became a devotee about the time of the whole Act 10 mess. I don’t think I’ve missed checking in more than a few days since then. You and commentators challenge my thinking; best of all is the laugh out loud humor of so many who visit this blog. Can’t imagine being without!

Andrew said...

Congratulations, Ann! I started reading you when I was in law school years ago. I used blogs as an escape from studying. I think I discovered you via Instapundit. (Funny, my autocorrect wants to change "Instapundit" to "kayaking.") I also remember Andrew Sullivan linking to you. I enjoy your posts, and the conversations among the commentariot. I especially appreciate when you take apart a news article or editorial and explain all the fallacies and poor reasoning. I am much more conservative than you are, but I appreciate your transparency and intellectual integrity. Please, keep doing what you're doing. Many happy returns.

Ralph L said...

I googled up mine in a minute by using my handle

All I'm getting is a Ralph Lauren ad. I reproach myself again and again for not remembering something written 13 years ago. Wish I had a catchphrase or verbal tic.

Original Mike said...

"I googled up mine in a minute by using my handle, a key word or phrase: "then and now," the year, and then "site: althouse@blogspot.com" (without the equation marks). I guess the hard part is remembering a unique phrase or other context."

I started out as Mike, so that's a lot more hits. I don't know the year. There are clues I could use. I believe my first comment was to reply to a comment by MadisonMan regarding biking in a snowstorm. It may have been regarding Soglin's comment about idiots who do that, so if I could determine when he said that it would give me a place to start. Then I'd need to search further into the past to see if that really was my first comment.

Like I said; a project.

Darconville said...

Thank you, Ann! Visiting this blog has been a near daily ritual since shortly after you started. A lot of other rituals have gone and gone since 2004, but you remain. My life is certainly richer with a small window into your brain.

CJinPA said...

Thanks Ann. You're my second stop of the day, every day. That's not too shabby!

All the New York Times/Washington Post and general liberal elite news articles sometimes has a cumulative effect on me, but I read every day and comment most days. I'm glad you still enjoy it.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Here is my first comment.

6/10/08. I'm pretty sure I was reading for a good while before that.

It was a poor attempt a humor. The more things change, the more things stay the same.

( Not too hard to find. Google search on "Ignorance is Bliss" site:althouse.blogspot.com, then use the tools to set a custom date range to only find results before 1/1/09. ( keep adjusting the date until you find the first year you commented. ))

Darrell said...

My first comment was "Ahoy! Ahoy!" followed by "Mary was a little lamb."

The technology was just that new.

YoungHegelian said...

Wow! Fifteen years!

Time flies when you're having fun.

Just asking questions (Jaq) said...

Found this comment from 2007. It wasn’t me, it was somebody with the handle of “PP”

Anonymous said...
As a British citizen I have no hope or expectation of influencing American elections.

But as a blogger Googling for the derivation of the phrase 'barking mad' only to stumble upon Prof. Althouse, I can only comment...

...you are gorgeous, you are wondrous and I intend to emigrate to the States so that you can bear my children. Or something along those lines:)

Yours ever,

PP

etbass said...

Great blog Professor, and congratulations. I have cited it to many friends along with the comments.

Freeman Hunt said...

Congratulations!

CarolynnS said...

Another Thank You!! I, too, read you on my second blog stop every morning. You are insightful. You ask interesting questions I don't see asked anywhere else. You take wonderful photographs! I enjoy how you examine words and sentences. And fifteen years! That's quite an accomplishment! So--Thank you!

Birches said...

I have no idea what my first comment was. I must have found you through Best of the web during the protests because I read you before Insta. Earliest comment I found on duck duck go was 2013. I'm sure I commented before that.

CWJ said...

"It's quite an accomplishment and I don't doubt that a future historian will look to the record here as a window on the way Americans thought and expressed themselves in this era."

Yow! I just flashed on the thought of Althouse Blog centuries later becoming the equivalent of Samuel Pepys diary.

TerriW said...

My daughter was an infant when I started reading your blog. Both have come a long, interesting, entertaining way. Thanks for putting it all out there.

Nice said...

I just want to know about the contingency plans for when it all ends. I know it's rather gruesome and macabre to talk about the end, and especially on someone's anniversary, yet there will be an end, whether it's discussed or not.

So the question---what happens when Althouse, for whatever reason, perish the thought-- is unable to continue writing. Does Meade take over? Does John Althouse Cohen start authoring Althouse posts, with Ann Althouse in absentia?

Don't you feel readers have a right to know what arrangements have been made for (heaven forbid) when the end shall come, and whether Althouse the Blog shall continue in perpetuity even without Althouse doing the writing? --Kind of like Roseanne without Roseanne---which seems to work out fine.

Birkel said...

Congratulations, Althouse.
I deeply appreciate your efforts.

Charlie said...

Congrats, I read every day!

CJinPA said...

Looks like I've been commenting since 2011.

The only comment I can recall getting a response from the author was when I asked how to hyperlink a url. "Google it," she replied. I thought that was needlessly dickish, even for the internet.

But it didn't keep me away.

(And I did Google it. And it didn't help.)

Unknown said...

I've been a lurker for a long time; I know I came before Meade found such great success. Then I stopped for a while, not sure why. Then came back; lurked some more, and eventually started commenting. Mostly as "unknown", but there were enough of us that I started signing with --Vance. Eventaully registered, but somehow that's gone away for the moment ( I think I have one working google account, and this ain't it), so it's back to "Unknown".

It's been a long ride! And a good one.

--Vance

Just asking questions (Jaq) said...

<a href=“Your URL WITHOUT the quotes”> Link text</a >

Don’t ask me how I got the HTML to show up, Google it.

pacwest said...

Good job.

Laslo Spatula said...

"And thanks especially to Meade, who's been with me 2/3 of the way through these 15 years."

Richard Starkey played for the Beatles for only a bit over 2/3rds of the band's career.

So the Althouse Blog, before Meade, was like the Pete Best Beatles.

And thus Meade is Althouse's Ringo.

15 years non-stop: It Don't Come Easy.

I am Laslo.

FullMoon said...

I came here sixteen years ago. The joint was empty, so I left.
Came back during Democrats hysterically leaving town because of Walker and laughed so hard I kept coming back.
Love the continuity of the thing.
It is fun to look at posts from the real old days and see AA and others reactions to events at the time.

lavinia said...

Thank you! Been with you daily since your 1st bloggingheads chat. You are a treasure.
PS...your life will change after your cataract surgery. I had both eyes done together in November after a 5 month wait. All that was hard is now easier. A miracle.

Mkd said...

Congratulations and thank you. I love your posts and the comments.

The Vault Dweller said...

Congratulations. Fifteen years, is no small feat. While not as involved as your career, I imagine, this is still a tremendous demonstration of dedication.

Howard said...

Good job, professor. Very informative and fun blog.

Charlie Eklund said...

Happy bloggaversary! And thanks!!!

RonF said...

Happy Bloggiversary!

CJinPA said...

" tim in vermont said...

Let's try:
A great site is Letters of Note

CJinPA said...

Thanks tim in vermont!

BTW...I was just searching my old comments to see when I started here, and then read a bunch of my others. One I JUST read was on unanswered questions surrounding the mass Vegas hotel shooting from 2017. I said the questions seemed silly. You questioned whether I was trolling.
We worked it out.

Funny I just read that and now you help a brother out.

Bay Area Guy said...

Congrats! What a great blog. The free exchange of ideas is wonderful, here.

stevew said...

Congratulations! Here's to many more.

John Ray said...

Ann, Meade:

I come here every day, it's an obsession, it's almost a mental addiction, and has been for about 12 years. Although I rarely buy things, I do purchase (the few purchases I need) as Ann suggests. After all, it is expensive maintaining this site people -- take notice. Ann didn't give me anything to say this.

Don't always agree with you Ann, or you Meade. But hell, I am a contrarian by nature.

I do agree with all others who praise your insight and your brainpower. O.K., many times I also agree with Ann's thoughts.

John in Texas

StephenFearby said...

AA wrote @ 10/27/06, 12:35 PM (about the UWM “George L. Mosse Humanities Building”:

"...That says a lot about how oppressive the inside is! I've always hated the outside of the building. I can see that the architect put a lot of work into creating complex spaces with interestingly framed views. That's part of what I hate about the building. You can see how deeply the people who made it believed in its goodness. The depth of error is really upsetting!"

One of the reasons I enjoy reading the Althouse blog...to savor her deft deconstruction of error. Including the errors of political correctness and the errors of the current Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution of the American Left.

The only thing I really don't enjoy about the Althouse blog is the distracting incessant serial loudmouth personal attacks by a small number of commenters who insist on cluttering up a thread with their inane, true-believer diatribes.

There is perhaps an analogy between the UMW Humanities Building "[as a representative example of] the Brutalist architectural movement...[which is criticized] for appearing uninviting and visually oppressive..."

https://badgerherald.com/banter/2015/12/05/debunking-the-bunker-is-the-humanities-building-riot-proof/

...with the clutter of diatribes on the Althouse blog.



WA-mom said...

To celebrate, how about letting us request a few of our favorite posts... Very early on, you drove to some conservative blogger event in Chicago. You said something which you said "passes for normal wisdom in Madison, WI" (I can't remember your words.). You left the conference in a huff when they all ganged up on you.

Nichevo said...

Mazel tov, Emerita!

Jim at said...

A must-visit every day.
Thanks.

Jim at said...

I don’t know how you do it but please keep doing it.

Agreed. Our cat had a blog. Daily, but not on weekends. And only one post a day. Even that was a challenge to come up with new stuff. Every day.

ceowens said...

I think I came here through a link from TTAG.

I massage my wife's feet every night for at least 30 minutes. I do it mostly one handed, though. Scrolling through Althouse with the other.

Buford Gooch said...

I've been following you, off and on, for 14 or so of those 15 years. Yours is one of the only blogs I visit at all any more. It has been interesting watching the change in commenters over the years. Some of the old regulars have been gone for a long time.

Clyde said...

Congratulations on 15 years of blogging, Althouse. I blogged for a few years and then lost the love of doing it and let it slide. Doing it every day shows a high degree of perseverance. I enjoy coming here both for the interesting posts and the commentariat's responses. Keep up the good work!

Sprezzatura said...

"I just said that out loud, and Meade said "I have.""

Exactly!

When I read the post I immediately realized that the 2/3 ratio was BS. The first third counts for somethin'. Wouldn't have the later sans former.


Likewise, I credit quarks and such.

And the big guy upstairs. Duh.


IMHO.

Sprezzatura said...

"I'm really a rather ridiculously timid person (in a strange mix with feeling confident and staunch about my own powers of observation and expression)."

Don't forget the persuasion power that Althouse has stated is mega maxed. She has stated that she can convince folks of stuff, perhaps, too easily.

And the powers of humility and not over emphasizing one's powers.

Takes a lot a power to make a vortex.

IMHO.

Rosalyn C. said...

Congrats on a great blog, Ann. Thanks for creating a wonderful place on the internet every single day. I love depth and breadth of your writing, your photos and drawings, and all the interesting and knowledgeable people you attract! (I mean that in a good way. Even if they are being naughty and/or boring they never get too off.) Thanks also for giving me a little space to share my thoughts and to keep up my spelling ability.

Here's to 15 more! I wonder what we'll be talking about, Donald Trump?

Sprezzatura said...

Also the power of stating that yur not into the policy details of lots a stuff, but ya still gots definitive opinions re such re the thirty grand feet POV. Feelings fill in for knowledge here. But, her not realizing this base motivation makes her takes more cool.

P.S. did anyone fifteen years ago have 'takes'? Takes are cooler than opinions.

IMHT.

Jay Vogt said...

Congrats Althouse, You've created a very interesting space here. Thank you.

By the by, is it just me or is Althouse is improved by a dash of the Crack EmCee just as Martha Steward in improved by a dash of Snoop Dog?

Matthew said...

Thanks for all the great work!

Christy said...

Congratulations! Incredible streak!

I came from Instapundit also. When was his first link here? My first comment was in September 2005 on a post about Howard Dean's op-ed slamming John Roberts.

I did a Bing search -- find "Christy said" on site: Althouse.blogspot.com
Then to narrow down the results tried --
find "Christy said" on site: Althouse.blogspot.com/2004
and stepped my way forward to 2005 and voila! Crushed to discover I wasn't a first year commenter. I've long forgotten the html to efficiently do this.

MadisonMan said...

Following IIBliss's directions, I found, apparently, my first post, from late March 2006.

Enjoy.

AZ Bob said...

Has it been that long? I remember when Ann started mentioning Meade so have I been coming here for 10 years? It doesn't seem that long.

I like the way Ann takes apart language. It is very lawyer like. You see how language is a weapon. And although she calls herself a liberal, she seems not to jump on their bandwagons. In fact, she seems to enjoy poking holes in the media's rush to judgement.

Having been a lawyer (actually a prosecutor), I do enjoy Ann's reports on judicial actions.

Keep it up!

Sprezzatura said...

Some classic commenters classically mixing it up re 2:47 link.

Incl a non-deleted Sipp.

Sprezzatura said...

"Classically" probably shoulda been "classily."

Really, both are accurate.

Rick.T. said...

Congratulations and thank you! Been here for most of the 15 years, probably via Instapundit. What a great run.

mishu said...

Happy Anniversary Professor! Even though I tease about the shorts thing, I do appreciate your blog.

KG said...

Happy anniversary. I'm a long-time lurker. I arrived when you first started blogging about "American Idol" :-O and continue to check in for the variety of topics.

Javert said...

Congrats, you outlived the Manalo!

Rick said...

Do you remember when you first enabled comments?

MadisonMan said...

I really enjoyed reading the American Idol blogposts.

MadisonMan said...

Incl a non-deleted Sipp.

Yes, I saw that as well. Guess he missed one. But I guess that means you have to go and manually delete them all? What tedium! I thought it was just a bulk delete, but the presence of a lingering comment disputes that.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

to Our Most Gracious Host, The Baddest Blogstress In The Blogosphere, Ann,
the Marmoreally Cool Co-Host, Meade
and to the Pithy Posters who comment...

way to kick quinze!!!

Unknown said...

Well, Sipp's post is deleted now at that link. Interesting! Either still lurking or as a new commentator with a new name.

--Vance

Sabinal said...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKSkBsnfkFA
Flintstone's Happy Anniversary

Sprezzatura said...

Well, Sipp's post is deleted now at that link. Interesting! Either still lurking or as a new commentator with a new name.

--Vance

One was deleted, further down one wasn't.

Temujin said...

I wanted to post a congrats this morning, but I was traveling today, then in meetings. Just couldn't get to it until now. But I wanted to say that I'm glad you're here and have been here for all the years. I don't remember when I started reading your blog, but it doesn't matter. It's been part of the fabric of my days for years.

I cannot believe that you have done this every day for 15 years. That's a ridiculous amount of discipline, determination, and passion with a bit of OCD sprinkled in. It's a bridge too far for most anybody else.

Every person commenting here (and on your other posts today) is a citizen in the little community you've built. I thank you for it and wish you a Happy Anniversary.

buster said...

Congratulations, and I hope there will be many more years.

Georgia Lawyer said...

I always log on in the evening, so all the clever remarks have already been written.I learned about you by watching Bloggingheads - now, I never look at Bob Wright's show, and I never miss the Ann Althouse blog. Congratulations! Don't stop now - aim for 15 more years.

Anga2010 said...

CoNgRaTuLaTiOnS1!1

DeepRunner said...

Congratulations on 15 years, Althouse. I have always enjoyed reading your posts. Keep the steam goin'.

cathy said...

Congratulations. I like reading your site in the evening, when there's been enough news and it's time to open to well said words that take it all to another level.

Tina Trent said...

I'd never read anything not strictly political online until my husband steered me here. Most online personalities seem claustrophobic and grasping. Your photographs of flowers are the opposite of ego. Art, books, conversation, observation thanks for the mouse watercolors too.

Unknown said...

Hello everyone. I saw comments from people who already got their loan from
Jackson Walton Loan Company, honestly i thought it was fake , and then I
decided to apply under their recommendations and just few days ago I
confirmed in my own personal bank account a total amount of $10,000 which I
requested for. This is really a great news and i am so happy, I am advising
everyone who needs real loan to apply through their email (Text or Call
+1-586-331-5557) (jacksonwaltonloancompany@gmail.com) They are capable of
given you your loan thanks.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

CongRATS Althouse. You’ve created a place to share your art and honest thoughts. I admire the work ethic and creativity you bring to this corner of the interwebs. Im sure I’ve been here at least 15 of those 17 years. Maybe more. May your mind continue to ponder things we find interesting! Thank you.

heyboom said...

A little late to the party, but I saw a commenter on the Clemson visit to the White House ask why this site has become so right-wing, and I wanted to add my two cents.

I believe you have attracted a vast conservative presence because you are one of the few blogs that truly allows almost unfettered free-thinking. We can post almost anything here without worrying about being banned. And you have such a high tolerance for personal attacks, which is admirable. In fact, this blog's tolerance is what Twitter should exercise, if they weren't so damned insecure about their worldview.

Congrats, and I am so glad I followed a link here from Instapundit back in 2011. And thanks to Meade for his timely and relevant commentary. Just the right thought in the right amount at the right time. A truly fascinating couple you two are!