Billmon
Encyclopedia
Billmon is the pseudonym of an American
blogger who wrote commentary on various political and economic issues of the day from a left-wing perspective. His blog was called Whiskey Bar.
, the Daily Kos
. For several years, until January 2007, his name appeared at the top of the list of Kos Alumni on the Daily Kos frontpage.
Whiskey Bar came into being in the aftermath of the American invasion of Iraq in the spring of 2003. Billmon first gained widespread recognition among regular blog-readers when, in May 2003, he submitted a lengthy post composed exclusively of quotes from various Bush administration
officials on the perceived threat posed by Iraqi weapons of mass destruction
. It was linked to by many fellow-bloggers, and it would go on to win the 2003 Koufax Award for best individual post.
The actual name of the blog Whiskey Bar is taken from a line from Bertolt Brecht's
"Alabama Song
," quoted at the top of the blog.
In the following 12 months, Billmon established himself as one of the leading bloggers on the left. He wrote extended pieces on domestic politics, the Iraq war, and the US economy. Billmon's previous incarnation as a financial journalist
gave him a distinct advantage when he posted on economic matters, as this was an area not well-covered by most political bloggers.
The 2003 Koufax Awards gave Billmon due recognition. These awards are the quasi-Oscars of the left/liberal blog community, and each year they are given out, virtually, in various categories. They are named after Sandy Koufax
, a famous baseball
player and a lefty. In 2003, Billmon won three Koufax awards, for Best Writing, Best Post and Best New Blog. His writing was described by the judges as "clear, concise, insightful." OpEdNews said he "may have done more to bring respectability to blogging than anybody."
Billmon's own response to this description was as follows: "Clear? I'd like to think so. Insightful? Is always in the eye of the beholder. Concise? Not even close."
During its first year of existence, the Whiskey Bar allowed readers to post comments on each blog entry. As the blog became more popular, Billmon managed the comments with some care, deleting abusive and nonsensical postings as they came in, and sometimes engaging in exchanges with his readers. He also adopted a sardonic, cynical 'barkeep' persona in his posts and comments, though this was generally secondary to his analysis and commentary.
Managing the comments became more difficult as they continued to grow in number, and at the end of June 2004 Billmon announced that he would be closing them down, writing that
One commenter noted at the time that he would miss the unique and international discussions that the Whiskey Bar had come to host, with their "tone tipping toward darkness and cynicism, but taken as a whole not quite bereft of hope, a casual and informative gathering of the sometimes grizzled veterans of this strange, strange time." Moon of Alabama, a companion site set up by fans, was soon established to fill this gap.
Billmon continued posting his analysis and comments, with some periods of inactivity, over the following two and a half years.
A great deal of his material up to May 2006 is reproduced on Wayback Machine, the Internet Archive
.
Miguel de Icaza
, a Billmon fan, made a backup
of the site which is available at his blog.
Late April 2007, a more or less complete copy of Whiskey Bar re-surfaced on whiskeybar.org. The site has no search function or monthly archives listings, and no pictures, but posts go back to early April 2003. The site is now (Oct 2009) down.
On July 31, 2008, Billmon returned to Daily Kos to post a diary entry in regard to John McCain entitled "The Great White Hope". Billmon has posted sporadically on Dailykos since then.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
blogger who wrote commentary on various political and economic issues of the day from a left-wing perspective. His blog was called Whiskey Bar.
Career as a blogger
Billmon was one of the earliest participants in what is now the largest political blog on the internetInternet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, the Daily Kos
Daily Kos
Daily Kos is an American political blog that publishes news and opinions from a progressive point of view. It functions as a discussion forum and group blog for a variety of netroots activists, whose efforts are primarily directed toward influencing and strengthening the Democratic Party...
. For several years, until January 2007, his name appeared at the top of the list of Kos Alumni on the Daily Kos frontpage.
Whiskey Bar came into being in the aftermath of the American invasion of Iraq in the spring of 2003. Billmon first gained widespread recognition among regular blog-readers when, in May 2003, he submitted a lengthy post composed exclusively of quotes from various Bush administration
George W. Bush administration
The presidency of George W. Bush began on January 20, 2001, when he was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States of America. The oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W...
officials on the perceived threat posed by Iraqi weapons of mass destruction
Weapons of mass destruction
A weapon of mass destruction is a weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans and/or cause great damage to man-made structures , natural structures , or the biosphere in general...
. It was linked to by many fellow-bloggers, and it would go on to win the 2003 Koufax Award for best individual post.
The actual name of the blog Whiskey Bar is taken from a line from Bertolt Brecht's
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
"Alabama Song
Alabama Song
The "Alabama Song" was originally published in Bertolt Brecht's Hauspostille . It was set to music by Kurt Weill for the 1927 "Songspiel" Mahagonny and used again in Weill's and Brecht's 1930 opera Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny...
," quoted at the top of the blog.
In the following 12 months, Billmon established himself as one of the leading bloggers on the left. He wrote extended pieces on domestic politics, the Iraq war, and the US economy. Billmon's previous incarnation as a financial journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
gave him a distinct advantage when he posted on economic matters, as this was an area not well-covered by most political bloggers.
The 2003 Koufax Awards gave Billmon due recognition. These awards are the quasi-Oscars of the left/liberal blog community, and each year they are given out, virtually, in various categories. They are named after Sandy Koufax
Sandy Koufax
Sanford "Sandy" Koufax is a former left-handed baseball pitcher who played his entire 12-year Major League Baseball career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers...
, a famous baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
player and a lefty. In 2003, Billmon won three Koufax awards, for Best Writing, Best Post and Best New Blog. His writing was described by the judges as "clear, concise, insightful." OpEdNews said he "may have done more to bring respectability to blogging than anybody."
Billmon's own response to this description was as follows: "Clear? I'd like to think so. Insightful? Is always in the eye of the beholder. Concise? Not even close."
During its first year of existence, the Whiskey Bar allowed readers to post comments on each blog entry. As the blog became more popular, Billmon managed the comments with some care, deleting abusive and nonsensical postings as they came in, and sometimes engaging in exchanges with his readers. He also adopted a sardonic, cynical 'barkeep' persona in his posts and comments, though this was generally secondary to his analysis and commentary.
Managing the comments became more difficult as they continued to grow in number, and at the end of June 2004 Billmon announced that he would be closing them down, writing that
over the past few months I've noticed a definite deterioration in the quality of the conversation here at the bar. Trolls I can usually give the bum's rush pretty quickly - at least most of the time. But I'm seeing more and more stuff on the threads that strikes me as marginal at best....- people who seem to get their main kick out of insulting or picking fights with the other patrons; people who don't have anything particularly intelligent to say, and aren't very articulate about saying it....That's generally what the on-line world is like, I know, but for a time Whiskey Bar seemed to inhabit a different space: a bit more thoughtful, more intimate, less raucous, and - maybe most important of all - less crowded.
One commenter noted at the time that he would miss the unique and international discussions that the Whiskey Bar had come to host, with their "tone tipping toward darkness and cynicism, but taken as a whole not quite bereft of hope, a casual and informative gathering of the sometimes grizzled veterans of this strange, strange time." Moon of Alabama, a companion site set up by fans, was soon established to fill this gap.
Billmon continued posting his analysis and comments, with some periods of inactivity, over the following two and a half years.
Closure and return
On December 28, 2006, Billmon stopped blogging at The Whiskey Bar, and the URL www.billmon.org became unavailable.A great deal of his material up to May 2006 is reproduced on Wayback Machine, the Internet Archive
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
.
Miguel de Icaza
Miguel de Icaza
Miguel de Icaza is a Mexican free software programmer, best known for starting the GNOME and Mono projects.-Early years:Miguel de Icaza was born in Mexico City and studied at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México but never received a degree. He came from a family of scientists in which his...
, a Billmon fan, made a backup
Backup
In information technology, a backup or the process of backing up is making copies of data which may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form is back up in two words, whereas the noun is backup....
of the site which is available at his blog.
Late April 2007, a more or less complete copy of Whiskey Bar re-surfaced on whiskeybar.org. The site has no search function or monthly archives listings, and no pictures, but posts go back to early April 2003. The site is now (Oct 2009) down.
On July 31, 2008, Billmon returned to Daily Kos to post a diary entry in regard to John McCain entitled "The Great White Hope". Billmon has posted sporadically on Dailykos since then.
External links
- The Whiskey Bar (inactive) http://www.billmon.org/
- Billmon's Diary at Daily Kos
- What A Tangled Web We Weave, the WMD quote post
- The 2003 Koufax Awards
- Profile of Billmon in Philly.com
- Farewell to Billmon in Philly.com
- Whiskey Bar on The Wayback Machine
- Miguel de Icaza's backup (web)
- Miguel de Icaza's backup (directly)