The internet, and how it stole my attention away from the written word.

I used to read, oh God how I used to read.

I read books on politics, on history, biographies, religious tomes, magazines, even comic books, if you can imagine such a thing. I was well known for reading up to three books at a time, all on completely disparate topics.

I read at work, I read in bed, I read on the toilet, I even brought a book to a nightclub because I thought I might get bored. (I did.)

But then I discovered the Internet. Oh don't get me wrong, I still read. But at nowhere near the breakneck pace I used to devour books. No these day I am on sort of a literary diet.

So why am I telling you this? Because I just finally finished reading a book that I have owned for over four months. Now I did read a few other books in the meantime, but still FOUR MONTHS! That is a sin, don't you think?

Especially since the book actually features a section on.....wait for it.....Alaska bloggers! Yes the book that I have repeatedly put off finishing is Eric Boehlert's book "Bloggers on the Bus". And right there on page 223, is a chapter entitled "Saradise Lost", and in it is a great deal about my friend, and fellow blogger, Phil Munger and a slight mention for the rest of us.

But I have no hard feelings. I was contacted to participate, and because I was still protecting my anonymity, refused to be interviewed. It is kind of hard for an author to talk about somebody he has never met now isn't it.

However since I did not get to meet Mr. Boehlert, and explain what I blog about and why I often focus on the babygate story, he essentially dismisses it out of hand, and then blames it for damaging the reputation of the netroots nation.

Someday I look forward to sitting across from Eric Boehlert and watching him eat a huge meal of crow. It really is too bad for him that he did not get the chance to talk to me. But once again that is my fault and not his.

And to prove it I am going to completely change gears and tell you why I LOVE his book. (If any of you just suffered whiplash I apologise profusely.)

The book is filled with wonderful anecdotes and behind the scenes stories of many of my favorite bloggers. Jane Hamsher, Digby, Glenn Greenwald, Arianna Huffington, just to name a few. For somebody who has toiled in virtual isolation for over four years, reading about so many fellow travelers is very cool.

But there was one section that I found particularly interesting.

It was in Chapter Twelve which discussed the making of a YouTube video that many of you may have seen and the backlash that the creator suffered at the hands of the Palin-bots. (Sound familiar?)

The video was created by Ethan Winner, and it featured some archival tape of Sarah Palin talking to the Alaska Independence Party (AIP), and a narrator explaining her connection to the secessionist group. I think most of you have probably seen the video or somebody else's version of it.

Anyhow it went viral, and the Palin-bots lost their shit!

I am going to transcribe this section directly from the book and see if you are not amazed by the similarities to my experiences early last month.

During the next week rabid conservative bloggers attacked Winner, his company, and his family for their involvement in the Palin video. Led by a site dubbed the Jawa report, the online masses became completely fixated, almost fanatically obsessed, with revealing Winner's identity as the creator of the video, which they deemed to be a "vicious" and "malicious" "smear" because he mistakenly claimed that Palin had been a member of the AIP. (In fact it was Todd who had been a member.) For some reason unmasking Winner became a paramount pursuit, so much so that the Jawa blogger announced ominously that he had applied the same online detective work to root out the YouTube creator as he had previously used to uncover the identity of "terrorist supporters".

As part of the cyber deep-dive aimed at outing Winner and then unraveling the larger (alleged) conspiracy in play, bloggers quickly posted Winner's photo online, his e-mail address, information from his Facebook page, his cell number, and even details about a boat he sometimes chartered. Out of their respect for privacy, his pursuers announced that they would not post pictures of Winner children.

But bloggers didn't stop with uncovering Winner's identity. They suggested that because his YouTube clip looked and sounded so professional, it must have been bankrolled by an outside group. They suggested that the Obama campaign, or some other nefarious, left-leaning outside entity "likely" helped Winner's PR firm peddle the video. In fact, Obama himself may have "funded or knowingly supported" the online effort according to one breathless online allegation.

Wow! Is that freaky or what?

When I read what the Palin-bots had done to Mr. Winner, and then compared it to my experiences, Shannyn Moore's episode, and attacks currently being directed at other Palin-critical sites, it left no doubt in my mind that these are not simply coincidences. Something stinks in Palin-ville.

I have seen the supporters of political candidates or movie stars get worked up before, but this seems to follow a particular formula.

If they are anonymous, out them.

Then get their picture on the Internet and television (In my case Bill O'Reilly did the honors).

Accuse them of some made up nefarious actions (Like being a pervert).

And then try to connect them to Barack Obama (In my case the abstract logic they used to make that connection was laugh out loud funny.).

So now, thanks to Eric Boehlert's book, and our own experiences, we will be much better prepared for the next cyber attack against anybody pursuing the truth about Sarah Palin.

So if you at all interested in blogs, or bloggers, or Alaska bloggers, or how the internet has changed politics, or how far behind the conservative blog are compared to the liberal blogs, or anything else connected with cyberspace, then go out and buy this book. If none of those topics interest you then just skip it.

And if none of the above is your cup of tea then perhaps you would be interested in joining me on my next literary journey.

I went to my local Barnes and Noble today and picked up not one, but two new books.

The first one, which should come as no surprise to most of you is Max Blumenthal's amazing book, "Republican Gomorrah: Inside the Movement That Shattered the Party". The second on is by Robert Wright, and it is called "The Evolution of God". Those of you who are somewhat new may not be aware of my absolute fascination with religion, and religious beliefs, but I am absolutely driven to learn as much as possible about the subject and have read probably almost three dozen books on the topic.

I have no idea how long it will take me to work my through those two masterpieces, but I will endeavor to read at least a couple of pages each day. If you finish before me, please don;t give away he ending. Especially of "The Evolution of God", I want to be surprised. What will God evolve into next? The mind simply reels.

And before i close out this post let me do just one more piece of house keeping.

Many of you have commented on the addition of an ad to this blog.

I decided that it would be nice if I could make a few dollars off of my work once in a while, and I will probably add a few more as time goes on. Personally I am not a fan of advertising, but as you may know we are in a recession.

Now I have no control over what Google decides to advertise on this site. Some of you have been tickled or offended by the SarahPAC ad that seems to pop up occasionally. I apologise if it bothers you, personally I have never seen it.

But remember, you do not have to click an ad if you do not want to. And having clicked it you do not have to make a purchase or donation. So I leave it up to you to decide how to respond to an ad on this site.