I sent the text below out to Taibbi@Rollingstone.com. I have read Matt for some time and found him occasionally extremely damn funny. The Stone’s political blog was demanding questions, so I thought I would shoot this in. Here’s hoping for response.
Matt,
It’s been a while. Rolling Stone’s blog is demanding that readers send you questions. So, here I go with a few that pop into my mind. Slide one or more over to Dickinson if you can’t decide which one butters the editorial bread best.
Would you accept my apology for initially telling you that you should pay Dylan Avery any more credence than a Mitt Romney abortion pandering session?
Not that there’s anything sinister with happening to agree with one party’s values more, but do you think that your National Affairs coverage is perhaps a little bit too partisan?
Advocacy journalism is a fine and splendid thing, but do you ever miss actually spanking the donkey instead of hanging NeoConservative bastards — who no one with a spinal cord, a moral soul, and/or a Rolling Stone subscription really appreciates — out to dry?
Are upper management’s power lunches limiting your ability to report on approaching Ad Council or drug czars on acid?
When you re-hash terms like “half-bright,” do you get the sense that the publication’s language is effectively evolving?
Do you personally relate to Julien Sorel of Le Rouge Et Le Noir? If so, how?
Half-seriously: Why do you hate America?
Does peace kill?
Any plans to hit the road for Presidential ’08? If not, could you give me a reference? I may still be young, but I am way older than Cameron Crowe.
Could you put in a good word for me in the College Journalism Competition?
Why do you think it took so long (at least a year) for the 24-hour news networks to report on the “gay bomb” research?
Considering that Rolling Stone’s plugging Ron Paul would only help shove Democrats even farther into anti-war and pot-legalization mode down primary road, why hasn’t Wenner Media built a gigantic golden idol to him on Avenue Of The Americas?
Why isn’t Spin covering politics?
Is Amy Goodman too idealistic?
What are your feelings about Klosterman?
Is America doomed?
Do you have children, a wife, a life partner?
What is your favorite YouTube campaign stunt? What is your least?
Will the blog or online media make print effectively irrelevant for political updates?
Who is the de facto craziest Christian in America?
If a financially struggling young American is now aware that Iraq poses no categorical threat to a single American’s life, liberty, or constitution, and he at the same time chooses to enlist in the military with the full knowledge that he will likely have to kill people in the country in whose occupation he assists, do you blame him? If not, considering your disdain for Imperialism, why not?
Do you blame an Iraqi for killing a U.S. soldier who occupies his country in order to “democratize” the citizenry by force? If so, why?
Where is Osama Bin Laden? Have you made a concerted effort to follow up on that last interview?
Do it bother you that Gonzo is now a porn genre? Does it titillate you?
Briefly, what are your religious beliefs? Is Sam Harris reductive in his arguments?
Why is a significant portion of the Beast archive M.I.A.?
To request a blanket answer, are liberals less racist than conservatives?
How are the Stone’s politics connected to its editors’ philosophy on covering certain musical artists? Would they not cover a Christian metal band because they are lame, or because they lack technical skill?
What is your most-viewed news source (1) on television, (2) in print, and (3) on the internet?
Do you ever find Rolling Stone’s advertisers’ interests necessarily antagonistic to the humble lifestyle that would allow Americans to depend less on foreign oil?
How often do you write to or call your congressperson and/or senator?
How much are you paid, respectively, for a single AlterNet, Rolling Stone, or Buffalo Beast post?
As you asked readers on Smirking Chimp, would you shake Bush’s hand?
Considering how long you have been pumping out exclusively political articles for Rolling Stone, do you feel that the constant beat reporting has hurt your ability to seek out diverse news sources, vìs-a-vìs, stunting your access game?
Have you considered freelancing?
If you could ask George W. Bush one question and be actually guaranteed an honest answer, what would you ask him?
Fill in the blank: _____________________, barked George W. Bush at his reflection.
In what way is Rudy Giuliani’s divorce proceedings relevant to his potential ability to carry out the office of president?
That’s all I’ve got right now.
Take care,Tyler Bass
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