One: Hah! CW Towers rises another floor every week. Heh.

Two: As for comment interaction, that's what sucked me into this treadmill in the first place, and it is what keeps me here even now.

Sure, the money's mostly non-existent, but what other writer can say they get immediate feedback on what they write, other than a blogger?

Sad to say, the HuffPost commenting seems to be on a much slower track than it used to be. The turnaround time is nowhere near as immediate as it was back in the day, that's for sure.

But I can't really complain, because I think we've built a pretty good community here at CW.com, and that's entirely my domain (as well as wife and kitty, as you mention).

That Irish joke cracked me up, just so's you know.

A shot of Bushmills, stuck in a potato, floating in a pint of Guinness...
-The Simpsons

And I always cringe at "lede" myself. After all, it's been years since I stuck a "---30---" at the end of my articles....

Heh.

-CW

Leave it to me to "bury the lead"
(Despite J-school...I'll go to my grave knowing that's the proper spelling..."lede"?..c'mon!)

ALL that was by way of a belated...and heartfelt....
Happy Anniversary....

All the best
TM

Just wanted to add a bit...and this seemed the piece to address it to .....even though there are new ones of yours up that I'm anxious to get to.

I've "admonished" you in the past...that you should never apologize for being too "long-winded"......since so many of us (some of whom I've come to "know"..through YOUR good graces)...seem to thirst for MORE depth and breadth in our political prognosticators....not less.

Similarly, when you apolgize to your readers for being remiss in not "answering" comments promptly enough.....two things come to mind.

One:
My spies in the Ironworker's union in San Rafael tell me that C.W. Towers is "coming up out of the ground" nicely on the old I.L.M. site (35th story now complete,.. I'm told)....so, at least you, mama-san (and masthead kitty) will soon be recieving the lavish renumeration you have long deserved.

Two:
Being blessed (cursed?) with this damn memory....I still remember what happened on the day (2005?)...
That I took my earliest foray on to the oh-so-thin (and never-to-be-trusted) ice of something called "the internet"..

I'm told that I positively SPRANG back fron the keyboard... to announce to my long-suffering wife...that it appeared that the author (the actual AUTHOR!) of a piece upon which I had commented....had responded...
to ME!... (had even called me by name!!)

It was as if Molly Ivins...or Christopher Hitchens had knocked on our front door to announce that they had heard about my opinion of their work and wanted to explain...PERSONALLY!............well.....

A number of things have transpired since....

I now have a better understanding of "the internets"
(still looking for that second one).....people now come to ME with their thornier computer problems (I'm a quick study)...and (best)
I now communicate daily with my far-flung extended family....all thanks to a "friend of mine"

You know the Irish...we value three things:
LOYALTY and "can't remember the other two"

As an expression of gratitude for all the above...as well as for the aquaintance of LizM Michale, Dr...well... JhNY, adkadijaan, and many others...

I offer you this:

Before the helipad is done atop CW Tower...it may be time to prep your readers for the day when a direct response from Chris is not a given.

If only to give the Wiegants time to enjoy the lifestyle such a famous author deserves.

I have a "bee in my bonnet" tonight about the "Cenk Unger" story as well as Obama's latest capitulation...so I must peruse other posts,...starting, as always...with Weigant's (Jeeest to keep an eye on 'em)

Without a lick of sarcasm or humor (Whew!...FINALLY)

Thanks, Chris
TM

Good to see you back here as well!

:-)

Michale -

OK, that Foxworthy story was funny, I have to admit.

:-)

-CW

I would much rather prefer someone who went to nameless schools, as opposed to someone who has absolutely ZERO accomplishments or leadership experience...

CW,

Everyone else, check last Monday-through-Thursday for updated comments from me.

Done... And done.. :D

tommymccarthy,

Yer comments are always a fun read!! :D Must be that Beaver State mentality that we share! :D

Reminds me of a story that Jeff Foxworthy told. He was told about an incident where a man's brother was attacked by a beaver and the beaver bit the brother's nipple off...

"It's probably the only time in history that the media could use the words 'beaver' and 'nipple' in the same sentence and not run afoul of censors"
-Jeff Foxworthy

:D

Ahem... Sorry, where was I??

Oh, Palin...

I think that Palin is going to shock and surprise many on the Left this Presidential Election. Maybe not as a candidate, but you can bet that she will have an impact... An impact that will be to the detriment of the Democratic Party.

As it was last time...

I have always said that, barring one or two exceptions, the Left has grossly underestimated Palin..

They continue to do so at their own peril..

Michale.....

Heheh. I think the Bush's might throw their weight behind Perry just so Harvard doesn't win!

After two "wordy" (windy?) parents raise three kids...supplies of reading materials are ample....

Supplies of gold are more problematic...

Thanx as always for generosity with your time and efforts re: (as they say in Chicago) "Da Blogz"

Hoping you are well
tm

Well, I made it up to Thursday, but couldn't cope with the Friday FTP mega-thread of comments tonight (gotta get to sleep). I'll try to get to them tomorrow, promise.

But I did want to extend a welcome to LeaningBlue to the site, and let him or her know that I finally went back to last Monday and answered his or her original comment.

Everyone else, check last Monday-through-Thursday for updated comments from me.

tommymccarthy -

Holy Moley, that set me back in my seat. Palin... as the "moderate" or "more experienced" candidate?!?

Wow... that's just stunning.

But then, once the shock wore off, I can see exactly where you're coming from. It's only an extension, really, of what I posit here -- that Palin might swoop in on the heels of some disaster befalling some other Tea Party candidate, and immediately announce her candidacy. Crafty like a fox, indeed. Hmmm...

[Aside:] Nice "Department of Redundancy Department" reference, there...

As for the rest of it, well, what can I say but "stockpile gold!" Heh. And a goodly supply of Robert A. Heinlein books, starting with "Farnham's Freehold" or maybe "Sixth Column." Although, in Western Oregon, you may be more familiar with Ursula K. LeGuin, and such marvels as "The Lathe Of Heaven."

Either way, it's going to be a long winter... get some reading material, that's my advice....

:-)

-CW

Palin might....(in the eyes of our can't-remember-last-week electorate) might somehow come to be regarded as as "moderate" or (worse) a "more serious" candidate (even one with "experience" based on the McCain campaign)??

In normal times ..as a partisan lefty....I would greet such an eventuality...with glee.

As it stands....I trust the American electorate to choose our "leaders" somewhat less than I trust any ten foxes to guard my chickens.

At the risk of sounding like a statement from "The Department Of Redundancy Department"......it would be impossible to overstate the level of my cynicism regarding the ability of the American electorate to make an informed choice.
Most people I know..as of 2008-11 now believe elections....ANY elections... DO NOT MATTER....and I can't summon a credible argument to the contrary (a bit like '73...that)

After thirty five-plus years in the hills of Western Oregon...lagely spent decrying my neighbors' isolationism and,...well,...paranoia....

I've now seen fit to RE-purchase the year's worth of food & necsessities we did initially....and take a little target practice with the firearms we never got around to divesting ourselves of...since 1975.

While MSNBC and Fox opine about "what the market will do" about the debt ceiling crisis....the verdict in MY neighborhood is IN....
And utter collapse in confidence in the central government is...by MY lights.... the great UN-REPORTED STORY of the currebt impasse at Washington.

Chris...be advised...I DON'T believe it will come to that..but, ...more than at any other time in my lifetime (that's saying a LOT given our revolutionary, anti-war, "goin-up-the-country" roots)....I believe ANY DAMN THING can happen now.

Obama, Eric Cantor...and D.C. itself seem very far away indeed.

"What even Nixon & Agnew could not do....etc."

All Weigants (including cats) are welcome at our place.

TM

Once again, I have been remiss in answering comments. So I'm going to tackle a whole week at once, here. If you've commented on anything in this time period, go check back and see if I've added anything to the discussion. I'll try to get them all done tonight...

And, as always, mea culpa.

-CW

So, I take it you're not an Eli?

Heh.

-CW

If I were a betting man, my money would be on Romney. For one simple, maybe over-arching reason: he's the only one who's attended Harvard in the entire field. And, as Obama's election showed, it's Harvard's turn. Yale had it for 20 years: GHWB, Clinton, GWB. Gore nearly broke it, but the Harvard-heavy Supreme Court (5 to 1 to 3 who-cares law schools) inexplicably kept the Yale streak alive.

So only with Romney can the string be guaranteed to stretch to eight at minimum, which would at least put it in striking distance of the current best Harvard streak: FDR by himself.

This stuff is just too important to risk someone who only went to nameless schools becoming President again.