Andrew-
Barrett Brown here; thanks again for the link to my VF piece in defense of Hastings and for your support of him. Hastings also sends his regards.
I have attached the manuscript to my upcoming second book here; it is an attack on Thomas Friedman, Charles Krauthammer, P.J. O'Rourke, Richard Cohen, National Review, Robert Stacy McCain, Stanley Kurtz, Martin Peretz, and a few other folks, as well as what I hope is a convincing indictment on the establish media as a whole, along with an allusion to the proposed alternatives that Hastings and I have been working on in conjunction with a diverse array of individuals ranging from Charles Johnson (whom I met through our common enemies and whose intellectual honesty has impressed me a great deal) to former Washington Post editorial board Gina Acosta to Case Western theoretical physics professor and author/blogger Mano Singham as well as over a hundred other individuals representing academia, science, journalism, finance, jurisprudence, and, in some cases, holding no particular formal credentials at all, such as myself. Incidentally, The Atlantic is one of the few magazines to which I subscribe and which I think has a very net-positive effect on the understanding of the American citizenry, and I've been daily reader of your blog in its various forms since at least 2004.
As to why you should consider taking the time to read it - last year you linked to my first Vanity Fair piece, which detailed the extraordinary blunders of Pulitzer winner (and now Pulitzer board member) Thomas Friedman, on whom the book is focused in part. Alan Dershowitz, of whom I am not a particular great admirer, compared my first book,
Flock of Dodos: Behind Modern Creationism, Intelligent Design, and the Easter Bunny, to the work of Mark Twain and Thomas Paine, and it also received similarly exaggerated praise from Matt Taibbi,
Skeptic, and some English Episcopal priest who took issue with some of its contents
in a sermon but compared it to the output of certain stern Old Testament figures such as Amos, Jeremiah, and Isaiah. The only negative review was from intelligent design leader William Dembski, whom the book was largely about and who was unable to refute anything in it. The book was written when I was 24 and the large bulk of it was conceived and composed while I was stoned or under the influence of various hallucinogens, as is the case with much of my work and which I note due to your interest in the subject of creativity, spirituality, and drugs. I would be happy to provide you with a PDF or actual copy of that book as well, which has long been sold out on anything other than Kindle (largely because it was a small print run, unfortunately).
As for myself, I am 28, from Texas, very recently a New Yorker but now a Texan again, a former contributor to The Onion, National Lampoon, McSweeney's, American Atheist, and a current contributor to Skeptic, The Skeptical Inquirer, New York Press, Vanity Fair, and possibly Harpers as they are considering running an excerpt from this new book. I am a frothing-at-the-mouth evangelist for the internet and its revolutionary potential in all human affairs, a soft atheist who serves as the spokesperson for the hard atheist PAC Enlighten the Vote (formerly the Godless Americans Political Action Committee, founded by the, uh, spiritual successor and adopted daughter of Madalyn Murray O'Haire, and an open-minded skeptic who is willing to consider any metaphysical possibility due to having been raised in a New Age household and having had my former assumptions shaken up by peyote, LSD, and mushrooms (none of which I've touched in years, but which I consider to be among the most important experiences of my life). In short, I find myself in an intellectual situation similar to yourself in terms of straddling a number of fences and being perpetually fascinated by my enemies.
At any rate, I hope you will take a look; I guarantee that any intellectually honest person who reads this book will be be unable to come away from it in possession of any respect whatsoever for those examined therein. Also, it is funny.
On Wed, Jun 30, 2010 at 12:20 PM, Barrett Brown
<barriticus@gmail.com> wrote:
You're a Brit, care to judge a contest?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j405oGcxPzI
On Fri, Jun 25, 2010 at 7:39 PM, Barrett Brown
<barriticus@gmail.com> wrote:
Thanks, Andrew, I suggested he go to you directly if he decides to talk about it.
On Fri, Jun 25, 2010 at 3:53 PM, Andrew Sullivan
<dailydish.email@gmail.com> wrote:
thx
just keep me posted
in so far as i can help, i will
cheers
a
On Fri, Jun 25, 2010 at 2:58 PM, Barrett Brown
<barriticus@gmail.com> wrote:
Hey, Hastings just called me, please don't run any of his quotes, sorry.
On Fri, Jun 25, 2010 at 2:18 PM, Barrett Brown
<barriticus@gmail.com> wrote:
Andrew-
Michael Hastings just sent me this message and I lack the ability to get it as widely seen as would be merited. I will forward as well to verify.
hey dude, the military is about to launch a counterattack against the story. total b.s., of course. they all have lost their jobs, the top pr guy duncan boothby resigned in shame because he fucked up, and now, a week later, they've finally started to grasp for straws. Might make for an interesting blog at huffpo tho if you were so inclined! I'm about to get on a 14 hour flight, so will be out of pocket.
best,
mhOn Fri, Jun 25, 2010 at 1:17 PM, Barrett Brown
<barriticus@gmail.com> wrote:
COMING AGAIN TO SAVE THE MOTHERFUCKIN DAY YEAH
Thanks for the link. Let me know if you'd like a review copy of my upcoming book.
--
Regards,
Barrett Brown
Brooklyn, NY
512-560-2302
--
Regards,
Barrett Brown
Brooklyn, NY
512-560-2302
--
Regards,
Barrett Brown
Brooklyn, NY
512-560-2302
--
Regards,
Barrett Brown
Brooklyn, NY
512-560-2302
--
Regards,
Barrett Brown
Brooklyn, NY
512-560-2302
--
Regards,
Barrett Brown
512-560-230