BLOGGING DEFIES DEFINITION

Our good friend and ally, /AB-C, takes a different angle to blogging than we do at The McHale Report. He maintains an idealistic and traditional approach to journalism. We don't accept the premise of his argument--objectivity. There is no such phenomenon. By merely selecting a subject, a journalist displays his subjectivity.

When he talks about his participation in daily journalism at the highest levels, is he suggesting that The New York Times or The Washington Post or MSNBC or CNN or Fox News don't have agendas? And this is the apex of reportage and commentary! Their agendas are etched in stone. The first four are dedicated to the crucifixion of Trump while the last is committed to the deification of Trump. They pick the facts that suit their bent. The purposeful selection of convenient facts doesn't equal objectivity.

The beauty of blogging is this source of reportage and commentary has broken the mold. /AB-C's purist interpretation of journalism may inspire his work, but not everyone shares his approach. Whether it's CNN or Fox, the audience determines if you have credibility or not. /AB-C likes to preach to us from the high ground, but those of us in the trenches have a different outlook. The bullets are literally flying over our heads. We call it as we see it and the advertising we accept has no affect on our prejudices at The McHale Report.

Before the game started, we have already decided who the winners and losers are although on rare occasions we have switched our alliances because our favorite turned into a failure as he wasn't capable of the challenge as the race progressed. Whether or not our winners prevail in the end, that's beyond our control. Just as the show must go on, the game must be played because only an omniscient God knows the outcome.

But no matter the result, we put on our uniforms the following day and prepare for the next game. We don't lose ourselves in self-adulation if we contributed a home run in the ninth inning or self-loathing if we struck out with the bases loaded. We don't have overweening egos and we have never taken ourselves too seriously. We are nobodies lost in nothingness and we couldn't be happier with our perdition. But we digress.

Unlike /AB-C who adheres to journalistic strictures, at The McHale Report we use journalism as a stage to entertain and inform with our performance art. If we think someone is a worthless piece of shit who looks like an ostrich, then we will print that observation. /AB-C insists that we should treat all politicians like dogs. We agree, except some we pet, others we kick in the ribs.

We don't judge other bloggers in terms of the presentation of their product. Blogging is anything you want it to be. While /AB-C has chosen a more traditional format to opine, we believe that there is no template. Either a writer has the ability to communicate and build his own credibility or he doesn't. Why can't there be as many genres in blogging as there are in painting?

We admire /AB-C's work. He has a special ability. A muse smiles fondly upon him. Since he writes short stories and novels, his prose about Brownsville politics borders on literature. He can turn a phrase with the best of them because he has been blessed--or cursed?--with a cynical sense of humor. The Catholic Church should employ him as its official Devil's Advocate. If you say the sky is blue, he will argue convincingly that if the author weren't blind he could see very clearly that the sky is purple with pink polka dots.

While we choose to promote our fellow bloggers, /AB-C never ceases in ripping his colleagues on a weekly basis at a minimum. We don't comprehend /AB-C's continuous crusade to excoriate the local bloggers. Does he believe that by undermining their credibility he enhances his own?

Of course, the beauty of /AB-C is that nobody understands him. Why would someone living in McAllen be so obsessed with Brownsville? his critics often ask us with incredulity. Why would someone living in Brownsville be so obsessed with Brownsville? we often ask ourselves. As the mountain climbers say: "Because it's there."

We have no problems with our detractors questioning our motives, let alone someone with the expertise and experience of /AB-C holding our feet to the fire. Nevertheless, we will march forward with our own vision. Perhaps /AB-C should include that bloggers should be treated like dogs too, but no matter the number of times he buries his boots in our sides, we're too old to learn new tricks.