Huh?!

If you're reading this, you're probably wondering what's up. Let me explain.

A little over two years ago, I took over the tradition of hosting a chatboard on San Francisco politics. That tradition was started by Alex Clemens at The Usual Suspects, then carried over by Malik Looper. I started out with Chuck, and later broadened the team to include 7seconddelay and antfaber.

One thing about maintaining a chatboard on politics, especially San Francisco politics, is that while you're trying to maintain the atmosphere of a salon, it often feels like defending a castle under siege. I think we did pretty well, particularly since we more often then not were on the business end of the "Progressive" antiregime that governs San Francisco, mainly by veto and clusterfuck.

I've been thinking about this for a long time. As time went on, I've thought more and more about turning The Wall into more of a reference base for the folkways of local politics; something that is sorely needed as the brainwashed and the cynical always work to keep a lid on things, in order to keep things from being done. I've thought about helping set up a Wiki reference on the subject, and some other ideas; those are still on the table.

But one thing that is sorely needed is a voice for views which, in the commonly accepted rhetoric of our venue, are dubbed liberal and moderate. Anywhere else these viewpoints would be considered progressive and liberal. But here, in case you didn't realize it, things have to be different, even if they don't work very well. The Left has all kinds of mouthpieces online, as do the Right. The Middle is left with the Muddle.

San Franciscans are, slowly but surely, reaching for the middle. The biggest issue which has had resonance in this migration of opinion is homelessness, which has marked this city as a sort of Calcutta by the Bay, fueled by the progressive homilies of indulgence and neglect. Voters turned out for Care not Cash, and elected Gavin Newsom as mayor to tackle issues from a less strident, more pragmatic perspective. The result has been mixed, due mainly to Newsom having to work with the Muddle and pay lip service to the usual legions of the brainwashed and cynical.

The next big issue is crime. And that's a big one. At least with homelessness, people are only dying in slow motion.

It may very well be time for the Radical Middle to have its own singular voice here. And here, to stay in the middle, you have to be radical. The question is whether steering a chatboard is the best way to articulate that voice. It's a question I've been pondering for a while now.

So, over time I deliberately started to shake the tree. On the Wall, we had "Progressive" posters as well as other stripes, and since many of them couldn't stand the presence of more moderate voices, they would pull the usual tired trick of questioning motives. Well, I got tired of that. When I started The Wall as a chatboard, I stated up front that this would not be a permanent thing. I fully expected to hand over the torch to someone else. We broadened the moderation staff to include more moderate and progressive representatives. For a time this worked. However, as is usually the case with movements of a reactionary bent, progressives sided with progressives.

So I continued to shake the tree. And down came the fruit. Antfaber quit and started a new chatboard, something he's been itching to do for a long time. Good luck to him: he's gonna need it.

I encourage everyone who's posted on The Wall to post there. I am. I'm enjoying the hell out of it: it feels good to be on the offensive, and that's where we need to be.

The Wall will still link to the old forum, but it will be steered in another direction, to be an adjunct to what you see on this page.

What you'll be seeing on this page is a lot of me and also some other people. Hopefully that will also include you.