The American Spectator

I often think back to my childhood and the fateful decision to become an online columnist when I grew up.

Well, OK, maybe not.  There being nothing called the Internet in the day, “online” meant either somebody was on the phone or had neglected to hang up the wet clothes on the clothes line.

The world changes, and these days the changes are picking up speed. Writing for The American Spectator’s online edition every week has become not just an exciting writer’s challenge to analyze the news. It has also become a technical challenge.

Through the wonders of 21^st century technology, The Spectator allows its writers to tell a story visually as well as with the written word. The latest Joe Biden gaffe is always captured somewhere on video and with a few taps of the keyboard can be embedded in a column to illustrate the latest Obama scheme gone awry. On one occasion I learned there were audio tapes of the always disturbing Rev. Al Sharpton using a racial slur. The tapes were located, the Spectator’s crew went to work, and after a late night my column on Sharpton’s hijinks appeared the next morning complete with the link to the tapes of the MSNBC host bellowing the unprintable.

One of the great features of the Spectator is what we call “The Spectacle” – the blog posting section for our writers. It enables us to respond to events that can’t wait for the next regularly scheduled column. These too are arranged technically for linking to the latest video or perhaps some piece of historic video footage that makes the point visually in a way that escapes even the best writers.

As that old lefty Bob Dylan still likes to sing on occasion, “the times they are a’changin’.”

They are changing at The American Spectator as well, where we work every day to stay ahead not just of the news curve – but the technology curve.

The 21^st century is here – and The American Spectator needs your help to continue telling the stories of American politics the mainstream media doesn’t want you to hear. And to tell them in the most imaginative technical fashion that 21^st century technology can provide. Make your tax-deductible contribution using the form below. Thank you.