Other than Andrew Bartlett’s admirable personal role model, none of the other parties are willing to open themselves up in this fashion.

The british (labour) foreign and commonwealth office have a bunch of blogs, including ones written by the foreign secretary and the ambassador to Afghanistan

Ta for coming along and commenting at GreensBlog!

Just remind your Senators that involving themselves in comments threads is important!

Of course it comes on top of the fantasyland story they ran on the CSIRO climate projections being a lowering. Blogged here as an update to last night’s piece.

This is refereshing and encouraging after the opiniated crap often pushed out by much of the MSM that is masquerading as “news” or even “the truth”.

It was a real shock to me when wel-educated professional people I worked with who read the Heraldsun’s strident attack on the Greens in 2004 (which was clearly politically motivated) accepted it. When I queried them about whether it was true and correct some said “well its in the paper so it must be true”. I jest not.

The MSM more often than not shuts down comment by Greens – even the Senators – or just plays the “whinging grab” only, never the solutions. They don’t care about balance or even the truth.

So now we have a voice. We can say the emperor has no clothes and Google reports your comments to those who search. We also have a medium for participation – so lacking in the presidential style campaigns run by the major parties and the MSM. The only time you hear from a local House of Reps campaign is when there is a gaffe or there is a whiff of blood (such as Howard in Bennelong or Turnbull in Wentworth).

I think Goverment has recognised the power of the blogging medium – which is why they are floating a “citizens blog” to encourage debate and participation. But the spin meisters will still vet the topics, push their agendas and screen the comments. Vive le democracie.

Or maybe we just haven’t been being controversial enough, yet..

Maybe you should hire Janet Albrechtsen. Today she labelled Rudd a “girly boy” and a “princess”, even as she insisted there is no smear campaign.