This
diary by Jerome a Paris about today's
column by Daniel Henninger in the Wall Street Journal prompted the response below. Read the column, comment below, and, if you're so inclined, respond to Mr. Henninger yourself. No profanity, please; Mr. Henninger apparently doesn't read books, listen to music or watch movies, so it offends his delicate sensibilities.
To the editor:
As a proud member of the Daily Kos community, I want to thank Daniel Henninger for mentioning the site in his column. Since he failed to note such invective-filled (but right-leaning) sites as Little Green Footballs and Free Republic, I can only assume he considered them unworthy of any attention.
I am, however, dismayed that Mr. Henninger's focus on the profanity of some posters missed the essence of Daily Kos. This website is a meritocracy. Any member may post a comment or a diary. Members rate comments and recommend diaries. Sufficient recommendations place a diary on the front page, drawing more readers and more comments. The best writers receive one-year privileges to post on the front page.
This means a broad range of topics - local races, national polls, creationism, oil consumption, Democratic strategy, the media, No Child Left Behind - gets dissected and discussed every day. While this may result in some "disinhibitionism," it also means that Daily Kos hosts some of the best discourse available on the topics of the day. Samuel Johnson, were he alive today, would understand and appreciate this immediately.