Matt Yglesias covers economics for Slate, but as he himself admitted, he doesn’t do much reporting, per se.
@DylanByers I don’t feel like I do very much reporting.
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) July 12, 2013
Yglesias certainly didn’t have much to say about today’s hush-hush meeting at the White House, which, to his amusement, made the banner of the Drudge Report this summer’s eve, LOL.
LOL, no. Some officials met with some writers in the OEOB. pic.twitter.com/ciVeLo4PyJ
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) July 12, 2013
The thing is, the secret meeting with liberal journalists and bloggers is becoming business as usual at the White House, particularly when the president finds himself saddled with a hard sell like gun control or Obamacare.
I guess everyone’s going to be really excited to read on Monday about what I’ve learned about ACA implementation.
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) July 12, 2013
LOL, no. We haven’t been counting on Yglesias’ reporting so far, and after his petty dismissal of a Daily Caller reporter and the tweeting of his cell phone number earlier today, we’ll get our White House talking points elsewhere. In the meantime, we invite you to enjoy Ace of Spades’ epic takedown of Yglesias and the “lulz” school of journalism that has found such favor with the occupants of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
One problem with the LOL/lulzy style as practiced by the wannabe 4chan brats such as @mattyglesias:
— Everyone's Famous (@AceofSpadesHQ) July 12, 2013
Mockery has been around forever, but historically, serious people had to explain WHY they believed some things were mockable.
— Everyone's Famous (@AceofSpadesHQ) July 12, 2013
Mockery was the goal, but the actual technique to achieve this goal was rhetoric and, to the extent heated argument can have it, logic.
— Everyone's Famous (@AceofSpadesHQ) July 12, 2013
But the LOL/lulzy attitude is that we can dispense with this whole "Let me explain why this is absurd" part of the political mockery deal.
— Everyone's Famous (@AceofSpadesHQ) July 12, 2013
We know those "on our side" will join our call for LOL or lulz if we just say LOL or lulz. So why bother explaining the alleged absurdity?
— Everyone's Famous (@AceofSpadesHQ) July 12, 2013
Just cut right to the chase. You don't need to make an argument or a presentation of your case; you just need to say LOL or lulz.
— Everyone's Famous (@AceofSpadesHQ) July 12, 2013
And while people used to pretend that they could, conceivably, reach a general audience, now folks like @mattyglesias throw in that towel.
— Everyone's Famous (@AceofSpadesHQ) July 12, 2013
https://twitter.com/AceofSpadesHQ/status/355813532903813122
lulz
— Everyone's Famous (@AceofSpadesHQ) July 12, 2013
What’s increasingly disconcerting about these little progressive get-togethers at the White House is how willing those who attend are to keep quiet about who was there and what was discussed. Yglesias wasn’t about to give any details to a “reporter” from the Daily Caller because, Daily Caller, LOL. But seriously, who was there? Will that be in Monday’s report? Or is “some officials and some reporters” got together good enough for the public?
LOL
— Everyone's Famous (@AceofSpadesHQ) July 12, 2013
My other objection to the lulzy style is, of course, that it is a collection of gags borrowed from 4chan…
— Everyone's Famous (@AceofSpadesHQ) July 12, 2013
…which permits people who are entirely not funny, such as @mattyglesias, to play at being Pretend Funny.
— Everyone's Famous (@AceofSpadesHQ) July 12, 2013
yes yes yes yes yes, let's just write "lulz" and "derp" and all the other various 4chan memes which were the Hot New Thing in 2005.
— Everyone's Famous (@AceofSpadesHQ) July 12, 2013
Discourse wasn’t always like this, was it?
When in the course of human events, lulz.
— Everyone's Famous (@AceofSpadesHQ) July 12, 2013
CAESAR: Et tu Brutae?
BRUTUS: LOL
CASSIUS: lulz
BRUTUS: pwnd, tyrantfag
— Everyone's Famous (@AceofSpadesHQ) July 12, 2013
MARC ANTONY: But Brutus is a good man. Lulz. j/k (g) 😉
— Everyone's Famous (@AceofSpadesHQ) July 12, 2013
WOMAN: If you were my husband, I should poison you.
WINSTON CHURCHILL: Eat a bag of dicks, poisonfag. Lulz.
— Everyone's Famous (@AceofSpadesHQ) July 12, 2013
WINSTON CHURCHILL: Clement Atlee is a very modest man, derp derp LULZ
— Everyone's Famous (@AceofSpadesHQ) July 12, 2013
LINCOLN: The gift of freedom is the blessing of God, and no man may own another.
DOUGLASS: LOL. noob.
— Everyone's Famous (@AceofSpadesHQ) July 12, 2013
LINCOLN: To compel a man to labor against his will diminishes the value of labor, which is holy.
DOUGLASS: ur gay
— Everyone's Famous (@AceofSpadesHQ) July 12, 2013
We’ll said. Now let’s settle down and prepare for a full accounting of today’s meeting first thing Monday morning.
Oh, look. A reply. RT @mattyglesias: LOL, no. Some officials met with some writers in the OEOB. pic.twitter.com/TwTmVVvsr4
— Vince Coglianese (@TheDCVince) July 12, 2013
@mattyglesias LOL! LOL!
— Jim Treacher (@jtLOL) July 12, 2013
@mattyglesias LOL. You're an astonishingly spoiled child.
— Jim Treacher (@jtLOL) July 13, 2013
